


Plant a kiss on me

by Moonyki



Category: EXO (Band), SHINee, SuperM (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Soft Pining, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:34:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24994702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonyki/pseuds/Moonyki
Summary: Kim Jongin is a rather quiet man, often seen as either shy or cold. He has used his very loud best friend as a shield all of his life to avoid talking and being in the spotlight... but when he gets a crush on the pretty man with pompom beanies who hops down the street every day at lunch, right in front of Jongin's tattoo parlor, there's just so much Baekhyun can do for him.Jongin thinks that it might be time to get out of his den.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Lee Taemin
Comments: 22
Kudos: 116





	Plant a kiss on me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Blondjjong](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blondjjong/gifts).



> This story comes from a prompt by Blondjjong ♥  
> Happy birthday, my lovely. Please accept this present. & thank you for listening to my endless cries for months as I tried to give justice to this AU.
> 
> This story is mostly unbeta'd. I'm sorry for the inconvenience & hope it won't bother your reading too much.

.

It was already past noon when Jongin got off the bus and hid a yawn as he slowly made his way to work. He sighed, stretched his neck, and dragged himself to the cafe just across the street from the tattoo parlor he worked at.

He still had around an hour before his first appointment of the day, more than enough time to wake himself up and enjoy his hot chocolate.

The coffee shop was rather empty, soft music playing in the background as Jongin looked up to meet Jongdae's smiling face.

"Hi there," Jongdae chirped happily, straightening up behind his counter.

Jongin blinked lazily and made a vague gesture in Jongdae's general direction before he took out his wallet without a word. Jongdae knew his typical order anyway.

The barista snorted and began typing on his cash register.

"Who's working today?"

Jongin widened his eyes slightly, eyebrows rising on his forehead as he tried to remember which day and month it was, then he hummed.

"Nag- … Uh, Baek' and Soo."

"Oh."

Jongdae pouted slightly, but his good mood kicked back in quickly.

"You look exceptionally exhausted today... What did you do last night?" he taunted with absolutely no discretion.

Jongin gave him a stern look across the counter, holding out his credit card to pay for the three drinks another guy had already started to make next to them.

"I worked on a drawing all night," Jongin muttered.

"That's disappointing."

Jongdae rolled his eyes, and Jongin made a face that his friend answered with an equally gross expression.

"Leave me alone or I'll tell Minseok you have herpes."

"Now, that's low. Even for you."

"Do I look like I care?"

Jongdae pouted again, causing Jongin to grin triumphantly as he walked away, grabbing the three drinks waiting for him before he stepped backwards towards the entrance and waved a heavily tattooed hand at his friend.

Jongin trotted to the tattoo parlor, humming to himself as he pushed the door open with his butt and entered the small room with dark walls that was their office. It was well decorated, mostly thanks to Baekhyun, and tidy, mostly thanks to Minseok. Some of Jongin's and Kyungsoo's best works had been photographed and were hanging on the walls above the comfortable armchairs and other seating for customers.

Jongin made his way to the desk where Baekhyun was sitting, scrolling through something on the computer with his glasses low on his nose, and put the hot drinks in front of him.

"'morning."

"It's almost 1 pm, Jongin."

"Yes. Good morning."

Baekhyun glared at him and snorted.

"Whatever. Thanks for the coffee."

"Is Kyungsoo here yet?"

"Nope."

"Don't drink his cup," Jongin immediately scolded as he took a seat next to his friend.

His movements might have seemed natural and unplanned to the untrained eyes, but Baekhyun was no fool, and he smirked slightly when he saw Jongin shifting in his armchair, turning himself toward the windows in a way he wished looked casual.

"As if I'd try..." Baekhyun sighed. "It's far too sweet for me."

Jongin didn't say anything. Instead, he stretched in his armchair and took off his beanie to tie his black hair into a little ponytail.

"Ah," Baekhyun suddenly said, "there he goes!"

Jongin immediately straightened up and turned towards the window to see the nearly empty street, only an old lady walking slowly by on the opposite sidewalk. Jongin blushed and pouted, staring at his friend with a frown while Baekhyun burst out in waves of laughter.

"Fuck you," Jongin grumbled.

"You're so easy."

"You're the worst."

Baekhyun theatrically wiped an invisible tear from his eye as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"I can't believe you came in an hour before your appointment just to watch a guy pass by the parlor, like... that level of dedication is impressive."

Jongin threw a stern glance at his friend and snorted.

"Thanks," he said, not without a pout. "You should try it sometime instead of fluttering from man to man. It might even get you an actual boyfriend, who knows."

"Well, excuse all of us poor foolish mortals who cannot find a decent man to stalk on the first try. I will get dedicated once I get my hands on a man who deserves it."

"I'm not a stalker," Jongin grunted, straightening up in his armchair in outrage.

He grabbed his hot chocolate so furiously he almost spilled it all over himself and huffed while Baekhyun kept giggling and returned his attention to his screen.

"Yeah, sure," Baekhyun said, looking up once more with a smile. "Ah, there he goes."

Jongin deadpanned, tilting his head just slightly as he faked a laugh.

"I'm not going to fall for it twice."

"Your loss," Baekhyun giggled again, and Jongin quickly became anxious.

He turned his head slightly, hoping that Baekhyun wouldn't notice -but he did- and gasped when he saw the awaited silhouette crossing the street a little further away. Jongin forgot about Baekhyun and his mockeries instantly and sighed as he leaned over his armchair and toward the windows to take a better look at the young, slim, gorgeous man who passed in front of their parlor.

The sight barely lasted ten seconds. Ten wonderful seconds where Jongin softly smiled as the object of his tender infatuation walked in adorable little hopping steps by their window display, his fluffy black hair messed up on top of his head.

Jongin's crush was smiling, talking animatedly on his phone, and blessing Jongin's heart.

It was Jongin's newly found routine: getting up late, going to work far before any appointment he had, drinking his hot chocolate next to Baekhyun's babblings or Minseok's ramblings about new cleaning equipment, and hopefully catching sight of the gorgeous man he knew absolutely nothing about except that he often passed by their parlor around lunchtime. Then, Jongin would be in a good mood for the rest of the day; seeing his crush usually brought him a smile that lasted at least three hours.

Jongin sighed contentedly and got up. He didn't pay any more attention to Baekhyun's attempts at teasing him and instead, turned away to go down the stairs to his tattoo room.

"Don't drink Soo's white mocha," he simply repeated before he disappeared downstairs to prepare everything for his first customer.

It had been around three weeks since Jongin had first caught sight of the lovely brunet who seemed to work somewhere near the tattoo parlor. Jongin had only come to work to cover for Minseok being sick, staying a couple of hours in the main room to greet customers, doodling some artwork when he was alone, and definitely avoiding the cleaning that he should have taken care of. Baekhyun had been incredibly busy, impromptu piercing appointments following up all morning and Jongin had taken it upon himself to help as much as he could by bringing his friend some coffee and a sandwich to chew on between two customers.

Jongin was a tattoo artist, not a piercer, and he couldn't substitute for Minseok in that area but he still tried to cheer on Baekhyun and support him while it seemed like the whole city had decided to choose that specific day and their specific parlor to suddenly get a piercing.

Jongin had made his way to Jongdae's coffee shop who had held him up for ten minutes asking why Minseok was sick and how bad it was and if there was anything he could do to help, and by the time Jongin managed to get rid of the annoying barista, the planets were all aligned to lead him to his destiny. When he thought back on it, Jongin was quite glad that Jongdae had been so persistent because if he had left the coffee shop just a little earlier, he might not have crossed paths with his crush. Maybe he would have never noticed him at all. But as fate played it, Jongin was just crossing the street back to his parlor when he spotted the brunet passing by, all tucked in an oversized hoodie and an adorable beanie with a pompom, with a smile on his lips that made Jongin's heart rise in his throat. Jongin stood there, gasping, wide eyes fixed on the cute man that kept softly bouncing up the street to a destination still unknown to Jongin.

It had all felt like a dream and Jongin had thought that he would never see that sweetheart ever again; it would have been too good, the universe couldn't be that nice to him. And yet, as he tried to pay more attention to the street during lunchtime, just in case, while telling himself to stop thinking about all of that, Jongin saw him again.

It took Baekhyun less than 48 hours to figure everything out and less than a minute for him to tell their two other coworkers about Jongin's little crush. Then, they had all tried to figure out who Jongin's crush could be, inventing him the most improbable lives they could think of every day as they saw him pass by. Minseok was rather sure that he was an artist of some sort, Kyungsoo said he must work with children because of the pompoms on his beanies, and Baekhyun, after theorizing about the man being a spy, an idol, a hacker, a tea shop owner, or a dance instructor, decided that Jongin's crush definitely worked in a flower shop. Jongin liked to imagine his crush in any possible setting, as long as he could picture him happy with his job, a soft smile playing on his lips.

In the last three weeks, Minseok still hadn't asked Jongdae on a date, Baekhyun had changed his hair color twice before he decided to settle on his current bright red, Jongin had gotten a new tattoo, Kyungsoo had remained exactly the same, and the cutie playing in all of Jongin's daydreams had somehow kept getting cuter and cuter. It seemed he owned a whole collection of beanies with pompoms, fluffy scarves, and colorful gloves and it pained Jongin greatly every time he saw him, the need to squish those round cheeks making his fingers itch.

If Minseok had chosen, for his own sake, to keep quiet about the whole thing, Kyungsoo had recently started to join forces with Baekhyun in trying to convince Jongin to just get out one day at lunch and talk to the guy. But Jongin always made some excuse to stay inside and admire his sunshine from afar instead. Namely that he wouldn’t know what to say without sounding like a creep. His friends just laughed and told him to charm the guy so that he wouldn’t even notice Jongin’s stalker tendencies. But Jongin wasn’t sure he could do that. He wasn’t the best at sweet-talking his way into guys’ hearts. He wasn't even the best at talking at all. He wasn’t Baekhyun.

It was on a very fine Tuesday that Baekhyun cornered him in the most unexpected way.

Jongin was sprawled on one of their armchairs, enjoying a little rest between two rather long appointments he had that day, listening to Baekhyun telling him about how he made himself extra pretty that morning because he had a date after work, when Kyungsoo entered the parlor with three drinks in hands.

Jongin stole a glance at his friend, offering a grateful little smile as he was handed an extra-large cup of hot chocolate.

"Thanks, Crown Prince."

Kyungsoo shook his head softly to dismiss the thank and gave Baekhyun his cup of triple espresso.

There was something about seeing Kyungsoo in their parlor that never grew old to Jongin. He had opened the Exodus tattoo parlor a couple of years ago with Baekhyun, whom he had been friends with for so long that Jongin couldn't even remember not knowing that eccentric nutcase. Baekhyun had actually been the one taking care of creating that place for them to finally work together. Then, Baekhyun had recruited Minseok as a second piercer, and they all somehow clicked, easily falling into a comfortable dynamic.

Over the years, the three of them had gone through numerous body transformations and hair colors. They fitted, all together, in that place: Minseok with his pink hair, neck tattoos, and numerous piercings, Baekhyun with all of his earings, constant eyeliner and crazy hairstyles, Jongin with his black hair, earplugs, and so many tattoos that he often lost count of them.

And then, there was Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo had come one day in their parlor, with fitted black jeans, a black tee-shirt, a black vest, glasses high on his nose, hair cut short, looking like some random university student. Baekhyun had made a couple of jokes to know which body part Kyungsoo wanted to get pierced, Jongin had tried to strangle his best friend, and Kyungsoo had only replied with a short bow and his resume, saying that he was a tattoo artist and was looking for a job. It had caused Jongin to burst in giggles until he choked up when he realized the man in front of them was serious.

What had surprised him even more had been the day he had seen Kyungsoo with a short-sleeve shirt and noticed the tattoos taking all of his right arm.

Since then, Jongin had been the one who drew the complete sleeve of majestic koi carps on the man's left arm. Kyungsoo might have had even more tattoos than Jongin, yet he still looked completely out of place whenever he arrived at work, all of the art pieces on his body covered by simple clothes, most of them only there for his boyfriend to see.

"We gotta do something about it," Baekhyun whined.

Jongin blinked a couple of times, straightening up in his seat as he looked over his friends with a frown. He hadn't been paying attention to whatever Baekhyun had been complaining about and he knew better than anyone else that not giving his friend the attention he wanted was a dangerous move.

"I think the parlor is perfectly fine as it is," Kyungsoo said with a shrug.

"No," Baekhyun immediately answered with a snort and a little pout. "I think we need plants! Plants would make the whole thing more... lively, you see. We need some green in here. You know, I recently bought a little ficus for my place and it changed the whole feeling of the room. I'm not lying. We should get plants. In fact, Pooh should go buy plants today."

"Yah," Jongin grunted. "Why me, all of a sudden?"

Baekhyun tilted his head at him with a little smirk.

"Well I can't go, I have a dick appointment today."

"Isn't it your first date with that dude?" Jongin muttered. "Why you gotta be so vulgar about it already?"

Baekhyun burst in laughter, clapping his hands together as he leaned closer to Jongin.

"Not my date, you silly. I'm piercing a dick this afternoon."

"I'm so glad I chose to be a tattoo artist right now," Kyungsoo sighed as he took a sip of his coffee.

Baekhyun shook his hands around and suddenly got up.

"Anyway, back to the subject, guys. Just picture it... We could get a couple of plants to put here next to the window display," Baekhyun enthusiastically chirped, moving around in the parlor. "It would look a lot friendlier, a lot cuter. I'm pretty sure Cinderella would agree with me."

Kyungsoo closed his eyes in defeat, rubbing at his eyelids.

"We need to stop providing him coffee... I think we're only making things worse for ourselves."

Jongin snorted, softly giggling behind his cup of hot chocolate until Baekhyun snapped his fingers to get their attention back.

"I'll be getting my coffee with or without you, you ass. Now listen! Plants!"

"For fuck's sake, he won't stop until we agree, will he?" Kyungsoo sighed as he rolled his eyes. "Fine, we should get plants!"

Baekhyun beamed, putting his two hands on his waist as he grinned triumphantly to Jongin.

"See! Crown Prince agrees with me!"

Kyungsoo grunted, staring sternly at his excited friend.

"Whatever, just leave me out of this," he sighed as he tried to go away.

"I'll tell Chanyeollie that you've been very good and cooperative today... so you'll get a reward!"

Kyungsoo froze on his spot and turned around to glare at Baekhyun with red cheeks.

"Shut up! You better leave my boyfriend out of this too!"

Jongin was too busy moving his head left to right, greatly entertained by one of the infamous Baekhyun vs. Kyungsoo little verbal sparrings to remember that he had been Baekhyun's target first.

"I don't really need you anyway," Baekhyun chirped. "Pooh will go get us some lovely plants!"

"I still don't get why I'd have to be the one to go," Jongin whined.

"You don't have anything to do for the next two hours, come on."

"I do," Jongin cried out, "I have to rest! And stretch! It's super tiring to stay for hours in the same position, you know that."

Baekhyun came closer and grabbed Jongin by the wrist, pulling on his arm to force him to get up.

"What better stretch than a little walk up the street to the flower shop, uh?"

"There's a flower shop up the street?" Jongin grunted.

"Yes, it's nice, you're gonna love it."

Jongin let out a long, dramatic sigh as he finally got to his feet and pouted.

"Alright fine, fine! I'll fucking go to the damned flower shop. What kinda plant do you want?"

"Anything nice."

"How many?"

"As many as you want."

"You're so annoying."

Baekhyun grinned, tapping Jongin's butt toward the entrance of the parlor.

"Hey, give me some money before sending me off since it's your brilliant idea."

"I gotta keep my change for my date, you never know," Baekhyun sing-songed. "I'll pay you back later."

Jongin grabbed his beanie, his scarf, and his coat from the hanger by the door and sent a death glare to his friend.

"You're a prick."

"You should get a cactus and name it after me then," Baekhyun immediately answered.

Jongin rose his middle finger behind his back as he opened the front door and went out, shivering as he felt the cold wind of February bite his cheeks.

He slowly made his way up the street, hoping that Baekhyun hadn't been kidding him or that he wouldn't have to walk for thirty minutes to find a closed shop. At least, the streets weren't crowded and the fresh air did him good, not that he would admit it to his friend anyway. It hadn't been such a bad idea to get out a little.

Jongin relaxed slightly, enjoying his walk as he looked around, glancing at every shop he passed by to make sure he wouldn't miss the one he was supposed to go into.

The street grew wider and Jongin frowned; there were less and less little shops around and he was starting to believe that he did pass by the flower shop without noticing it because even though Baekhyun could be a pain in his ass, his friend wouldn't have elaborated such a complicated scenario just to force him into going for a walk. Or he hoped so. Jongin took his phone out of his pocket, ready to assault Baekhyun with whines when he finally noticed the store not so far away from him. He slowly came closer, squinting to read the sign from afar, and sighed.

"It ain't a flower shop," Jongin texted Baekhyun. "It's a plant nursery, you dumbass."

The answer came quickly.

"Who cares! Just bring us a cactus!"

Jongin crossed the large parking lot and entered the store. He was immediately enveloped in a deep and heady fragrance of flowers and earth, and smiled softly as he grabbed a shopping cart.

The plant nursery was immense, a little intimidating, even, for someone who wasn't really a plant connoisseur. There were a few areas, in different long halls, where Jongin could see aisles and rows of potted flowers, small trees, and a few gardening equipment.

Taking a long inhale, he walked down an aisle, peeking at the different plants surrounding him with a pouty face. He saw all kinds of flowers and plants, small or big, aromatic herbs and little trees. The only ones he actually knew and could recognize were the rosebushes extending outside.

Facing so many choices, Jongin had no idea what to pick. He tried to search for little tags that could maybe indicate how to take care of each plant and could help him make up his mind. He knew that none of them, at the parlor, would be able to look after flowers with great needs. They had to go with strong plants that didn't need too much water, too much sunlight, that didn't require them to moisturize them or dust their leaves...

Sighing with resignation, Jongin decided to start by looking for the cacti because, after all, Baekhyun's suggestion hadn't been a bad one at all. It took him a little while to find his way through the aisles and he almost started walking into a restricted area and got called off by an employee whom Jongin bowed to quickly in apologies. He asked the way to the cacti section and trotted quickly to it.

If he were to be completely honest, Jongin would have never thought that there could be so many different kinds of cacti. He was slightly bewildered as he stood there, looking at the immense tables filled with hundreds of little to large pots of cacti.

"Now, which one looks like Baekhyun's pal?" he whispered to himself in a cackle.

He walked slowly, eyeing the small, round cacti, the long, tall ones, the ones with flowers, and the thin, flat ones. Finally stopping in the middle of a long row, he chose one, for the sole reason that it was tiny, and thus, reminded him of Baekhyun: a round, puffy, and spiky little thing.

As he was still smirking to himself, rather content with his mischief of some sort, Jongin straightened up. He stood there, his small cactus in hand as his eyes fell on the employee only one row away, who was taking care of displaying new little pots of cacti on the table in front of him, and Jongin's eyes widened, his mouth falling open. Right there, with a green apron around his hips, was his crush, softly humming to himself as his gloved hands were arranging the new plants.

What were the odds?

Jongin closed his mouth. The odds were high; of course they were. _Baekhyun_ out of all people had sent him here and Jongin couldn't believe that he had thought for even one minute that his friend had actually been interested in plants. It had been a trap all along. A trap Jongin was glad he fell into when his crush, sensing his persistent stare, looked up to glance at him.

Jongin saw him blink a couple of times, curious eyes detailing the silhouette in front of him in a way Jongin was used to, before he smiled gently.

"Hi, may I help you?"

Jongin smiled awkwardly; he wasn't sure if it looked more like a smirk or a wince but he hoped it didn't make him look creepy nor somehow conveyed the way his heart was going crazy inside his chest.

"Maybe," Jongin simpered, attempting to put as much confidence into his voice as he could.

His crush nodded, put his box of cacti aside, and slowly made his way to Jongin as he took his gloves off.

"What can I do?"

Jongin's eyes immediately searched for the nametag on the man's chest and his smile stretched on his lips.

Taemin. A lovely name, truly.

"I'm uh-... searching for plants." 

"You're at the right place, then," Taemin giggled. "What do you need exactly?"

Jongin looked down to hide his embarrassment, thinking that that was the exact reason he hadn’t wanted to go out and talk to Taemin in the street. Fucking Baekhyun! But now that he was here with Taemin tilting his head in that adorable way, he might as well go for it.

"I have this little thing already," he said lowly, bringing his cactus a little higher for Taemin to see before he put it in his cart. "And uh-... I would like a couple more... Can you tell me what kinds of plants don't require too much care?"

Taemin had widened his eyes slightly as he saw the black lines and writings all over Jongin's fingers. He looked up and nodded quietly, feeling inexplicably small and impressed by the man in front of him.

"There are a few plants that are known to be quite resistent and won't require you to water them too often. You have to think about where you want to put them: is the room luminous? Is there a lot of sun coming in?"

Jongin was really doing his best not to stare at his crush's lips as he talked or be distracted by the way Taemin was shaking his head slightly to bring his black bangs away from his eyes. He truly deserved praises for being able to keep up with the conversation -sort of- when Taemin was being so unbearably cute right in front of his nose.

"Well," Jongin hummed. "I think, yeah. Kinda."

Taemin pursed his lips -Jongin managed not to sigh at the sight- and then trotted away, Jongin following him diligently.

Taemin made Jongin walk around the store, asking him a few more questions, answering him with a little smile that was absolutely adorable despite looking slightly tense and before Jongin knew it, he had a succulent in his cart, a devil's ivy, three pots, two different kinds of soils and a serious case of an arrow metaphorically planted right in the middle of his heart. It was all thanks to Taemin, his sweet voice, his eye smile, and Jongin's newfound inability to say no to him.

"Please, take good care of them. Thank you for your visit," Taemin said with a little bow as he dropped Jongin by the checkout.

As if walking inside a dream, Jongin paid for his purchases, barely talked to the cashier in front of him, and found himself on the parking lot where he sighed dramatically.

"I'm so fucked," he grunted as he looked down at the bags in his hands.

His heart was still hammering, completely overwhelmed by the memory of Taemin's lips, which had looked so infinitely more tempting up close.

He was certain that he had looked like the biggest idiot on the planet, barely stuttering answers, walking right behind Taemin as if he had been ready to follow him to the end of the world.

All caught up in his staring, he had yet completely missed the look of pure awe that Taemin kept throwing at him.

Inside the plant nursery, Taemin quickly bounced back to one of his friends and coworkers, puffing out his cheeks before he softly whined.

"Yonggie, I just had-... the most handsome customer I've ever seen!"

There was a snort, then a small face with a tired smirk emerged from between leaves.

"Ah, it had been a long time since I last heard this..."

"I'm serious," Taemin whispered with wide eyes. "For real... that guy was-... I don't even know. So awesome. Like... woah. It was quite something!"

Taeyong sighed and straightened up, dusting his pants and stretching his back.

"I see, I see," he said absentmindedly.

"He had that aura, you know..." Taemin kept chirping, following him around like a lost chick. "He was so impressive... barely talking... he looked so cool. I'm shaken."

Taeyong couldn't help but smile and turned around to properly look at Taemin squirming around and making grand gestures as he kept talking about the cold-looking model who had asked for his help.

The shop was empty when Jongin came back. He knew that Kyungsoo was tattooing that afternoon and he could hear Baekhyun babble to one of his customers in his piercing room.

Jongin still had a little bit more than thirty minutes before his appointment and he decided to quickly take care of the plants in one of the back rooms, while he still remembered Taemin's few pieces of advice on how to correctly put them in their pots.

Once he was done, Baekhyun was back in the front of the parlor, whistling to the sound of the music playing in the background.

"Yah, you're back! I was starting to get worried."

Jongin only shrugged as he went all the way to the window display and looked at their windowsill to decide where to put each plant.

"So," Baekhyun chirped. "How was the store?"

Jongin smirked but didn't turn back, feigning ignorance as he knew Baekhyun was probably boiling with impatience and wondering if his plan worked. The traitor.

"Alright, I guess," Jongin hummed as he put the devil's ivy on the little table by the window and nodded softly to himself.

He looked back to catch Baekhyun's disappointed pout.

"Are you okay?" Jongin asked innocently.

"Yeah, yeah, nevermind," Baekhyun grunted. "Did you get a cactus?"

"I did."

Jongin snorted, showed him the tiny prick in his small pot, and saw Baekhyun smile.

"I'm naming it Voldemort."

Baekhyun stared at him and then burst out laughing.

"What?"

"It's your pal, so it's Voldemort."

Baekhyun came closer to look at his new friend and shook his head slowly.

"Dumbass."

Jongin brought the cactus to the windowsill, in the corner next to the door, and seemed very satisfied with his arrangement.

"It does look friendlier," he said. "It's cute."

"I told you so," Baekhyun sighed before he went away, back to his computer. "By the way, your appointment came early. I think she's a little stressed... I gave her a cup of tea and sent her to your room already."

Jongin looked up and nodded. He stopped by the staircase and stared at Baekhyun until his best friend looked back with a frown.

"What is it?"

"I met Taemin."

"Who's Taemin?"

Jongin smirked. The tip of his ears turned slightly pink and Baekhyun's eyebrows shot on his forehead as he yelled in excitement.

"Don't yell for fuck's sake, Crown Prince is working."

"You gotta tell me everything after you're done tattooing," Baekhyun loudly exclaimed.

"Deal," Jongin grinned.

He squirmed on his feet and finally made his way downstairs but stopped halfway and ran back to the main floor of the parlor.

"Thanks, Nagini."

"Later! You gotta thank me later when I know exactly what you're thanking me for. Go to work, you silly bear."

Baekhyun theatrically dismissed him with a large move of his hand and Jongin giggled like a kid as he went down the stairs in little bounces.

Jongin hadn't been able to tell Baekhyun everything about his encounter with Taemin on that day, because his friend was already off to his date by the time Jongin was working on the fox his customer wanted on her thigh. They had gathered at the coffee shop across the street on the next day at lunch with their two friends for Jongin to explain everything that had happened since it seemed that everyone was extremely interested in the new episode of his love life. Or almost.

Baekhyun was already finding excuses for Jongin to go back to the garden center, Kyungsoo was slightly annoyed that he had been asked to come on his day off for such non-existent development, and Minseok simply patted Jongin's shoulder softly and told him that it was a great first step.

"'talking about first steps," Baekhyun grinned and leaned over their table to gaze right into Minseok's eyes.

"I gotta go," Minseok immediately squeaked.

He grabbed his cup of coffee quicker than Jongin could follow, jumped on his feet, and hurried out of the coffee shop, not without a longing glance and a little smile to the barista, that none of his friends missed.

"I hate him," Baekhyun sighed. "He's here having a whole snack of a man trying to flirt with him and he keeps running away... meanwhile I keep going on dates that are all more terrible than the one before. There's no justice in this world, I'm telling you. Why can't I have a Jongdae falling in love with me too? Why can't I?"

Jongin absentmindedly noticed that Kyungsoo answered Baekhyun and that his two friends were playfully bickering once more but he didn't pay them that much attention. Instead, he stared at his cup of hot chocolate and smiled softly, thinking about Taemin's shy eyes as the man had tried to subtly glance at his tattoos the day before.

At some point, Baekhyun started whining and tugged on Jongin's elbow to make him move because they needed to get back to their parlor and Jongin had to stop daydreaming. His first appointment of the day wasn't before another thirty minutes but he really needed to follow his friends if he didn't want to miss Taemin passing by the shop.

It was all really silly, Jongin thought. He had spent the last couple of days debating to himself about going back to the plant nursery, maybe buying a plant for his place but mostly questioning if he should try anything with Taemin at all. He had kept wondering if he should actually do something about his crush, just as Baekhyun had told him to for days now.

"I don't know why you're even pondering about it. It's always been so easy for you... You'll stand here, quiet, not saying a damn word, and Taemin will melt at your feet just like everyone else."

"Don't be bitter, Nagini," Minseok had sighed.

And Baekhyun had mumbled things about not being bitter but being realistic and how Minseok shouldn't give his opinion about such matters considering his situation, and Jongin had stopped listening to them.

Baekhyun and Minseok kept talking. They made babbling noises that gave a background to Jongin's thoughts that were all about what it could be like to date Taemin. And Jongin sighed softly before he turned his head to the window display. It was late in the afternoon and Jongin was waiting for his one last appointment who was expected to arrive around ten minutes later. He didn't expect to see Taemin at all.

It was all really silly, how the man wouldn't leave Jongin mind.

He appeared at the corner of the parlor and Jongin straightened in his armchair, his eyes widening in surprise and delight.

Taemin stilled in the street, right in front of their parlor, and came closer to look at the devil's ivy in the display. Jongin saw him blink a couple of times, quite fast, then Taemin looked at Voldemort, the tiny cactus in the corner of the windowsill. Then he saw the succulent and he seemed all flustered, his eyes going from one plant to the other before he took a few steps back. Jongin was captivated as he watched him search and read the sign on top of their parlor saying "EXODUS – tattoos & piercings". He saw the way Taemin's eyes widened slightly before the man pursed his lips and looked down again to glance at the plants. Then he came closer to the window display again and tried to peek inside, and Jongin felt his heart leap in his chest.

Their eyes met and Taemin jolted softly, letting out a squeak he was grateful that Jongin couldn't hear.

Jongin smiled, that tiny smile of his that Taemin already knew, the one that looked more like a smirk, and he waved softly. Taemin cowered slightly and turned around, to make sure he was the target of the little greeting, and Jongin couldn't help but laugh.

Taemin brought one hand to his scarf and buried his face in it to hide his smile as much as he could. He glanced at Jongin from the corner of his eyes and waved back quickly before he jumped on his feet and hopped away, trying to convince himself that there was no way Jongin could have seen the blush on his cheeks from where he was sitting.

His heart was beating wildly all the way back to his metro station. Taemin couldn't believe he had seen his handsome customer again. He couldn't believe he actually worked closeby. He couldn't believe that he might see him soon again. He couldn't believe that the man potentially remembered him. He had even waved at Taemin!

"Are we invited to the wedding?"

Jongin turned back to his two friends, looking like a doe caught in highlights.

"Shut up," he mumbled, quickly getting up to try to escape to his tattoo room.

"Pooh, it was so cute! He waved back at you! He waved!" Baekhyun screeched, loud enough to be heard even as Jongin slammed the door of his workroom close.

One day, as he was sitting against the window in his bus, Jongin had briefly thought that he had to talk to Taemin, one way or another. And maybe even ask him out on a date. They had been waving at each other every time Taemin passed by the parlor for the last three days and thus, while still being quite sleepy and not completely in the state of taking deep, life-changing decisions, Jongin made up his mind. On that day, he would try and go for it. On that day, he would get out of the shop and engage in a conversation with the pretty man of all of his daydreams.

Unfortunately, Baekhyun wasn't working that day and Jongin was unable to ask his very best friend for advice on what to actually say to Taemin and he had to resort to asking Kyungsoo instead, which didn't go well.

"Just say hi, I guess."

"Yeah, thanks, Sherlock. I'm having trouble for the parts that come after the 'How are you?' and such."

"I don't know, just go with the flow."

"You're extremely unhelpful."

"And uncooperative," Kyungsoo shrugged as he looked away and stared at the agenda on their desk. "I know."

Jongin crossed his arms with a sulky face and simply stared away to the windows.

He finished his hot chocolate slowly and was still pondering about actually following Kyungsoo's semblance of advice and improvise, when Minseok arrived. Kyungsoo greeted his first appointment of the day before he disappeared through the little hallway in the back of the parlor, and Minseok sat down, asking about his friend's day so far, while Jongin kept watching over the street through the window display with a frown. But his Taemin didn't show up and Jongin suddenly had to remember that his crush had days off too. Maybe he was eating lunch somewhere else. Jongin had to accept the fact that Taemin probably didn't plan his whole day around the moment he came to wave at him, as upsetting as it was for Jongin not to see him.

Jongin was grumpy during his first two appointments of the day and he tried to cover it as best as he could. His customers probably thought that he was a little rude but he was used to it anyway and it didn't alter his work at all, especially when he worked on such small little drawings and writings that took barely half an hour to tattoo. People always assumed he was cold and moody because he was quiet; he had been told numerous times about his supposedly intimidating aura that only got worse when he was in a slightly bad mood. The only person who never got why anyone could be intimidated by Kim Jongin was Baekhyun, who kept screeching that _Please, Nini Pooh is the biggest baby you'll ever meet, what on Earth! Why do you think I even started calling him that?!_

As he worked the lines of the small geometric forms his customer wanted on his wrist, Jongin hoped that by some miracle, Taemin hadn't seen him as some distant, emotionless statue.

Minseok and Kyungsoo were talking in the parlor when Jongin went up and sent his customer off. He didn't really pay attention to their conversation and simply stretched with a sigh in the middle of the room before he whined.

"I'm tired, I need a hot chocolate."

It caused Kyungsoo to snort.

"You know what," Jongin continued as he straightened up a little and blinked quickly, "I might even take a cafe latte."

"Wow, that's wild. Are you sure you can handle it?"

Jongin stared at Kyungsoo silently and simply turned to Minseok.

"Cinderella, you want anything? You're the only one in this room who deserves that I bring him a drink."

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and Minseok grinned as he got up.

"Actually I uh-... I'll come with you... to help you carry the drinks and all."

He trotted quickly to the entrance with a smile and Jongin looked him up and down.

"I can carry two drinks by myself, you know."

"Yeah but uh-..."

"Or do you want me to let you go see Jongdae alone, perhaps?" Jongin offered with a little smirk and a taunting voice.

Minseok sighed loudly and threw Jongin's beanie to his face.

"Shut up. Let me come with you, please."

"Alright, alright."

They wrapped themselves in scarves and coats and exited the parlor; Kyungsoo only looked up when Jongin was about to close the door behind them.

"I want a white mocha."

"I know," Jongin grumbled with a roll of his eyes and Kyungsoo smiled at him with a little nod. "That's the only thing you ever drink, please."

Minseok was quiet as they crossed the street, walking even closer to Jongin than he usually did. Minseok was probably the only person quieter than him that Jongin had ever met, and Jongin often thought that the reason why Baekhyun's constant chatting had gotten worse over the years was that he was the only one in their group who actually enjoyed small talk and he could blabber for hours without anyone interrupting him.

Minseok's silences were comfortable, soft, filled with warm smiles.

When they entered the coffee shop, Minseok was glued to Jongin, almost hiding behind his larger frame and only peeking over Jongin's shoulder to sigh with relief as he saw Jongdae behind the counter. Jongdae noticed Minseok, beamed visibly, and Jongin sighed loudly.

"My two favorite customers," Jongdae greeted them, leaning on his counter to try to steal a glance at Minseok in the least discreet possible way.

"Yeah, right," Jongin huffed. "I want a white mocha, a cafe latte, and uh-... What do you want, Cinderella?"

Minseok blinked, looked up to the menu, and nodded.

"A cappuccino, please."

"Coming right up," Jongdae chimed as he grabbed three large cups, writing down the order on them somehow without breaking eye contact with Minseok. "Now, how are you doing? Having a lovely day?"

Jongin moved slightly to the right to let Minseok deal with his crush. He had expected Minseok to maybe stutter or ramble a little or even search for him and run back to hide behind him, but his friend stood as tall as he could get, lips pursed, eyes wide before he let out a small breath and balled his fists.

"Would you go on a date with me, Jongdae?"

Jongdae dropped his pen, as well as the cup he had been holding. Jongin gasped. The man behind the coffee machines started coughing. Minseok swallowed hard.

Then, in less than thirty seconds, Jongdae blushed so hard Jongin got concerned he would explode, almost choked while agreeing, and Minseok squeaked, gave him the card he had prepared beforehand with his phone number before he scurried away, leaving Jongin at that.

"Did this just happen?" Jongdae whimpered, turning to Jongin. "Am I dreaming?"

"Look, I'm as surprised as you are, I didn't see that one coming!"

Jongdae let out a couple of curses as he shakily took another cup, writing Jongin's last order on it before he passed it to his coworker who just looked at him with a frown.

"Are you okay, dude?"

"Six months," Jongdae whined softly. "I've been... waiting-... Do you think I am okay, Kibum? Do I look even remotely okay? Have you seen the angel who asked me out right this instant? Have you?!"

"Okay, sorry for asking," Kibum grumbled before he disappeared back behind the coffee machines.

Jongin thought that he must have been new. He had never seen him around. Only a rookie wouldn't have known about Jongdae undying crush on Minseok anyway.

Jongdae was still looking in disbelief at Minseok's little card, whimpering quietly, when Jongin finally got his order and left the coffee shop cackling under his scarf. He found Minseok sitting in an armchair, abruptly going quiet when the tattoo parlor's door opened to let Jongin in.

"I see," Kyungsoo said softly, apparently answering whatever Minseok had been whispering about.

Minseok smiled as Jongin came closer to give them their drinks and they kept silent for a couple of minutes before Minseok sighed.

"You'll uh-... You'll watch over me, right?"

"Of course," Jongin murmured, holding out his hand to tousle Minseok's hair.

Kyungsoo hummed and took a sip of his coffee.

"Jongdae is a nice guy. And I'm pretty sure he's already aware that if he hurts you, he's dead meat."

"I could still remind him that Baekhyun is black belt in taekwondo though if you want," Jongin simpered.

Minseok laughed behind his hand and shook his head, only letting out a quiet thanks to his friends before he got up to hide in his piercing room.

"Let me know when I have to be at the desk, okay? I'm gonna clean a little," he said before disappearing in his workroom.

"Sure," Kyungsoo nodded.

Jongin waited, sipping on his cafe latte, until Minseok closed the door behind him. He had wanted to tell everything to Kyungsoo: the cute look on Minseok's face as he had finally gathered enough courage to face Jongdae, Jongdae almost fainting with the shock, how proud he was of Minseok for finally, finally getting out of his protective shell. But any plan to rejoice with Kyungsoo about Minseok's bravery died on his tongue as Jongin loudly yelled and winced, almost throwing his cup against the wall in disgust.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kyungsoo looked up, eyes wide, trying to understand what went wrong.

The door to Minseok's piercing room opened and the man quickly came back to his friends with an alarmed expression.

"Pooh? What's wrong?"

Jongin coughed, looking in outrage at the coffee in his hand as he shuddered.

"That thing! It's poison!"

"What?"

"It's not a cafe latte, fuck. It's awful!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean this ain't my order! Jesus Christ! What the fuck did the new guy put in my cup?"

Minseok tilted his head as he took Jongin's cup from his hand and opened the lid to look at the coffee and smell it.

"If he's new you should cut him some slack. Maybe he just dosed it wrongly," Kyungsoo shrugged.

"It tastes like he put some fucking fish sauce in it, for fuck's sake. He tried to murder me!"

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and Minseok took a tentative sip of the coffee, then raised one eyebrow.

"Yo, that's just a cafe latte, Pooh."

"No, it's not!" Jongin pouted.

Kyungsoo started laughing, getting up to look at Jongin's cup too, and tasted it.

"It damn tastes like a cafe latte, though," Minseok insisted.

"Yes, it does," Kyungsoo hummed.

"It's not my order! I drink more cafe lattes than both of you, so trust me. This ain't it!"

Minseok sighed loudly.

"Fine, just go back and ask for another one, then."

Jongin grabbed his drink, closed the lid forcefully on it, and turned on his heels.

"Damn right, I will! Why do they even have fish sauce in a coffee shop, I ask you," he grumbled, putting his beanie back on his head with a grunt.

"Don't forget that you have your next appointment in ten minutes," Kyungsoo yelled behind him but Jongin was already out.

He took large steps back to the coffee shop, barely looking at the road before he crossed it, almost bumping into a man talking on the phone in front of the café, and stormed inside like a man on a deadly mission. Jongdae gasped as he saw him, but before he could ask anything -he hoped Minseok hadn't changed his mind and wasn't sending Jongin to cancel their date- Jongin violently put down his cup with a frown and a pout.

"This ain't my order," he grunted without ceremony.

"What-?" Jongdae asked, looking down at the cup in a blink.

"It's poison," Jongin suddenly whined, his furious aura disappearing quickly as he started sulking. "What did you put inside? I can't drink this, please redo it!"

Jongdae carefully took the cup, opened it, smelled it, and Jongin hoped he wouldn't start lying like Minseok and Kyungsoo because he knew how cafe lattes tasted, and that cup simply wasn't it.

"It's not right," Jongin insisted in a whine.

And Jongdae started laughing. Jongin looked at him in incredulity and sighed.

"What's funny?"

Jongdae turned around and called his coworker to join him.

"Aaaah, I'm so sorry. Because Minseok asked me out, I completely forgot to tell Kibum... Yah, Kibum, this ain't his order."

Kibum frowned, looking down at the cup of cafe latte that was causing such a scene and he sighed.

"I'm pretty sure I made it perfectly, though."

"No, you haven't," Jongin grouched.

Kibum glared at him and Jongdae kept giggling softly.

"No, no, it's okay. It's just that... ah, my friend here is a special customer, you see," Jongdae calmly explained to his coworker. "When he asks for a cafe latte, you gotta make him a cup of warm milk with honey."

"What?" Kibum and Jongin both asked, eyebrows raised in utter confusion.

"Just trust me," Jongdae said, pushing Kibum back to the machines gently. "Warm milk, honey, extra cream just for the fun of it."

Kibum muttered something but went back to his preparations while Jongin stood there, looking at Jongdae as if the man had just committed a murder right in front of his eyes.

"You've been lying to me for months? I thought I was drinking coffee! What the hell?"

Jongdae tilted his head with a smug grin playing on his lips.

"Dude, the first time you came to ask for a cafe latte, you told me it was too bitter and asked to me redo it with just slightly less coffee..."

"Yeah, slightly less, not completely without it."

"I put slightly less coffee and you came back asking for even less coffee and a little more cream because it still didn't taste good."

Jongin frowned, his pout deepening on his face as he tried to recall the event and maybe find a loophole in the story that could allow him to stay mad at Jongdae.

"By the fourth coffee, I have to admit I was getting irritated and there was no way I could put less than a spoonful of coffee in your cafe latte... so I just put honey instead and oh! What a surprise! You immediately said it was perfect. So yeah... I've been lying to you because you were so proud to say you could now drink coffee."

Jongin sniffed, still sulking.

"I haven't charged you extra though," Jongdae continued with a little wink. "You paid for milk with honey, so don't worry. I can keep the secret from Baekhyun too if you stop being grumpy at me."

"Thanks," Jongin muttered with a side glance at the barista who grinned at him before motioning for Jongin to move away because new customers had arrived.

With a long sigh, Jongin turned around and walked to the little island where orders arrived, and he froze on his spot, eyes wide, as he saw Taemin waiting there, looking at him with red cheeks. He seemed to be trying really hard to control his smile, judging by the way he was biting his lips.

"One cafe latte," came Kibum's sarcastic voice as he slid Jongin's warm milk with honey on the counter, looking at him pointedly.

Jongin took it, looked down on his cup for a couple of seconds, then glanced at Taemin right next to him, who was still staring back. The whole scene he had just made about his cup of coffee was playing relentlessly in Jongin's mind, getting more and more ridiculous and embarrassing each time.

"Hi," Jongin muttered.

Taemin giggled softly, his small hands playing with the two cups in front of him.

"Hi," he said. "That uh-... that was really cute."

Jongin barely had time to wonder about what to answer or what to think of the two drinks waiting in front of his crush before a voice behind them made him straighten up.

"Taeminnie? Are our drinks ready?"

Taemin grabbed the cups and turned around with a nod, looking so adorable it physically pained Jongin.

"Yes! Right here!"

Jongin tried to be discreet as he looked past his shoulder to see the man he had almost run into when he first entered the shop. Couldn't he have just stayed on the phone for five more minutes?

"Should we go?" Jinki asked with a sunny smile.

Taemin hopped to him and handed him his drink before he turned back to wave shyly at Jongin with a cheeky grin.

"Bye!"

Taemin didn't even wait for Jongin to react, he pushed Jinki toward the exit, uncaring of his friend's confusion.

"You know that guy?" Jongin heard him ask.

Taemin shushed him with wide eyes as he kept nudging him to the door.

"Wait! Was that-?"

The door closed behind them and Jongin stood there, watching through the windows as Taemin dragged his friend away from the shop, said friend looking back to catch another glance at Jongin.

"You got a suitor, Milk boy."

Jongin raised an eyebrow and turned to glare at Kibum who was smirking behind his counter as he slid yet another cup, announcing the order loudly.

Jongin grumbled something inaudible and quickly left the store, only remembering about his next tattoo appointment when the cold wind hit him and brought him back to his senses. He still couldn't shake the memory of Taemin's timid smile out of his head for the rest of the day.

"This time," Jongin thought as he got off the bus and poutily made his way to work. "This time, I'm gonna talk to him. I'm gonna get out and talk to him. Enough is enough."

He was done pondering about it, done mentally listing pros and cons, done trying to analyze things. It was time to put himself out there and if Minseok, out of all people, had somehow managed to do it already the day before, then Jongin wasn't going to chicken out and miss the opportunity to get a date with Taemin who, as the new barista so kindly put it last time, seemed to have taken a liking to him. And the scene from the previous afternoon hadn't seemed to have played in Jongin's disadvantage which was a miracle.

As he recalled the whole incident and the way he had suddenly realized Jongdae had played him for months, Jongin groaned softly. He pursed his lips awkwardly, cringing and shivering with the memory. Then, as he blinked a couple of times to try to shake his embarrassment away, Jongin gaped.

There, a few steps away from him, was a white beanie crowned by a fluffy red pompom. Jongin instantly smiled as he recognized Taemin, standing in the middle of the way, immobile, not so far away from the tattoo parlor. Jongin came closer, tilting his head as he fondly watched Taemin hop from one foot to the other and adjust his beanie and scarf.

Jongin was just about to greet him when he heard the man exhale loudly and finally move with a little jolt to approach the parlor. With a smirk that he couldn't have hidden even if he had wanted to, Jongin saw Taemin peek timidly inside the shop, leaning forward to look through the window display. The store was lightened already and Jongin knew that Baekhyun was most likely already inside but Taemin only sighed and pouted as he craned his neck to take a better look.

"What are you looking for?" Jongin said softly.

Taemin let out a startled cry and turned around at lightspeed, almost bumping into Jongin. He looked up and Jongin saw his cheeks redden abruptly.

"Oh, hi!" Taemin coughed, stepping back slightly and bumping into the windows.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Jongin teased.

They both knew it was a little lie and Jongin kept looking expectantly at Taemin. The man opened his mouth but looked unsure, as if he was desperately trying to find an excuse for his behavior but couldn't think straight.

Jongin's face softened, his smirk turning into a smile as he came closer, standing next to Taemin to look at the parlor.

"Were you looking at the plants?" he said gently.

"Uh? Oh, yeah," Taemin mumbled as he turned around to look at Voldemort, the little cactus behind the window.

He couldn't believe Jongin would give him an excuse for his behavior so gracefully, when he, in fact, had just been trying to catch sight of the man he had thought would be working.

"Do you want to come inside for a minute?" Jongin offered, with a glance at his crush. "To check on them... See if I take care of them well enough."

Taemin blinked again and frowned in confusion, and Jongin couldn't help but giggle.

"The plants..." he said.

"You really remember me?" Taemin gasped and his face lit up.

"Uh? Yes, of course. You're the cute seller from the garden center."

Jongin hadn't meant to admit he found him adorable but the compliment came out before he could stop himself and Taemin immediately blushed and bit his lips to prevent his pleased smile to stretch too much.

"I uh-..." Taemin whispered, "I wasn't sure you remembered... when we met at the coffee shop."

"I did," Jongin simply said, looking at his crush with a raised eyebrow.

His heart was beating fast, exhilarated with how wonderful everything was going. He really was talking to Taemin. And Taemin really obviously had a crush on him too. A miracle.

"You too!" Taemin suddenly said as he nodded.

"I uh... what?" Jongin frowned.

"Cute, you're cute," Taemin rambled. "You uh-... You said I was cute, right? Just a moment ago."

Jongin laughed behind his hand and Taemin stared at the way his eyes crinkled.

"I did say that."

"You're cute too. I found you very cute the first time and... well, you still are."

"Thanks."

Jongin looked him up and down a couple of times, still smiling, finding Taemin's whole behavior unfairly endearing. Then Taemin pressed his hands on the windows and sighed.

"I guess I could. Enter, I mean. I could enter and look at the plants. Just to check on them."

Jongin brightened visibly, turned to the door to open it, and gently waved his hand to invite him in. Taemin jolted on his feet and scurried inside with quick little steps.

When he heard the door open and the little chime ring, Baekhyun straightened up, tore his eyes away from the computer, and the friendly greeting that was supposed to leave his mouth died on his tongue in a strange gargle as he saw the flower shop boy enter, followed closely by Jongin. They both had infuriating blushes on their cheeks and smiles at the corner of their lips, their cheerful, enamored expressions aggravated by shining eyes.

They didn't spare him even one glance. Jongin stood in the way, shielding Taemin from Baekhyun's view and Baekhyun wasn't sure if that was done on purpose or not.

"Do they look healthy to you?" Jongin asked softly, with a scrunch of his nose.

Taemin looked up to him and blinked again, seemingly lost. Jongin snorted and with a little movement of his head, he pointed at the cactus by the windowsill.

"Did I take good care of them?"

Taemin turned around with a small exclamation and crouched down to look at the plant.

"It seems to be doing good, I would say."

His voice was soft, and Jongin could hear his smile without even seeing Taemin's face. His heart fluttered.

"We can't kill Voldemort so easily," Baekhyun snorted.

Jongin jumped in surprise and Taemin craned his neck to look at the two men standing behind him.

"Voldemort?" he asked in confusion.

"The cactus," Jongin mumbled. "We named it Voldemort."

"You named it," Baekhyun accused.

"Alright, I named it Voldemort."

Taemin tried to hide his giggles behind his hand as he got back up and quickly bowed to Baekhyun.

"Hi, I'm Taemin."

"I'm Baekhyun and I'm delighted to see you here."

Jongin squinted at Baekhyun as threateningly as he could, hoping to convey to his friend that he should not fuck this up for him or be embarrassing, or else, the consequences would be terrible. The problem being that Baekhyun wasn't really known to pay attention to messages written loud and clear on one's grumpy face.

"Oh, uh... thanks?"

Taemin looked up to Jongin and gave him a little smile that managed to catch his attention, but Jongin wasn't sure why Taemin was looking at him with such a cute face and why he looked to be waiting for something.

Maybe Jongin wasn't very good at reading faces either.

"What's your name?" Taemin whispered as if saying it softly would make it any less awkward.

Before Jongin had time to fully understand the situation and remember that he, indeed, never told Taemin his name; Baekhyun started barking in waves of laughter.

He was so loud that they all barely heard the door open behind them, making the bell chime.

"Shut up, Nagini," Jongin grouched.

"Oh fuck, I hate when this is the first thing I hear when I arrive here," came Kyungsoo's tired voice.

For a moment, the three friends bickered, teasing each other with insults and jokes that Taemin desperately tried to follow, even if he didn't understand half of them. It was a sport of some sort. His eyes kept going from one man to the other, wondering why they were talking about a Crown Prince and what the fuck was a Nagini and why couldn't he catch the name of his pretty, lovely tattooed man and lastly what on Earth had Winnie the Pooh got to do with Baekhyun laughing his ass off. It was all very confusing, to say the least.

Taemin was frowning a little when, all of a sudden, his crush put one hand on his elbow and tried to discreetly push him a little farther from his two friends and coworkers who were still yelling at each other (happily, from Baekhyun's part, annoyingly, from the other's).

"Fuck, I'm so sorry. They're loud. And embarrassing."

"I don't mind," Taemin immediately chirped with a smile. "You're all really funny."

Jongin snorted and a tiny smile appeared at the corner of his lips, the one that looked like a smirk. The one that Taemin secretly thought about all day every day. It was cute and sexy. A deadly combination for his heart.

"I'm Jongin, by the way."

"Jongin," Taemin repeated. And Jongin's heart fluttered again. "Alright, thanks."

"You can call him Pooh though," Baekhyun said, without a shame in the world as he got involved in some private conversation yet again.

"Nagini, I swear to God..." Jongin threatened through his teeth.

"Really?" Taemin asked, turning back to Baekhyun. "Pooh? Is that a nickname? So it's you?"

He looked at Jongin with pink cheeks and the loveliest grin Jongin had ever seen on his face.

"Yeah uh-... Pooh. That's me."

"That's so cute," Taemin squealed.

"Because he's a big, cute teddy bear with very little brain," Baekhyun rhapsodized as he hugged Jongin from behind. "Great for cuddles, 10/10."

"You know what the bear with very little brain says to you?" Jongin grumbled as he tried to get out of Baekhyun's hold.

"Probably that he loves me!"

"Go to Hell!"

The sound of Taemin's squeaky, breathy laugh caused Jongin to stop his attempts at getting rid of Baekhyun. Instead, he got busy with blushing from his neck to his forehead.

"You're really funny," Taemin said.

"Thank you!" Baekhyun said, accepting the compliment for himself instantly. "And here, obviously, we have our Crown Prince, in case you didn't get that."

Baekhyun hopped to the desk to grab Kyungsoo's head.

"I'm Kyungsoo."

"But doesn't he look like that actor who played the Crown Prince in uh-... what's the name of that drama? '100 days my Prince'? Doesn't he? He fucking does, right? That's why I started calling him that! It fits! They're like lost brothers or something!"

Taemin widened his eyes and nodded quickly.

"He does," he whispered before he caught himself and looked directly at Kyungsoo. "Sorry. You do, actually. Really."

"Thanks," Kyungsoo mumbled with red cheeks as he pushed Baekhyun away.

"And uh-..." Taemin hummed as he looked successively at the three friends, ending with Baekhyun. "Then, you're Nagini?"

Baekhyun smirked and nodded silently. Kyungsoo sighed.

"'Wanna know why?" Baekhyun said as teasingly as he could.

Jongin stared at him menacingly again but Baekhyun wasn't even looking at him and thus, couldn't feel his annoyance and disapproval.

"I mean, if that's alright..." Taemin said softly.

"Because he's a damn snake," Kyungsoo snorted.

Taemin blinked.

"Oh... Oh! Nagini. Yes. Voldemort's snake! Oh, alright! I get it!"

Baekhyun's smile stretched on his lips. Then he stuck out his tongue, furtively, just long enough to see Taemin's eyes widen again in shock.

"He has a snake tongue," Jongin explained as he saw Taemin's face. "He had it cut in the middle. So, the name seemed fitting."

"Whoa," Taemin breathed out in awe. "I never-... That's the first time I see-..."

He kept looking at Baekhyun's closed mouth and shook his head as he realized it might be rude. Or awkward, at least.

"How does it feel?" Taemin heard himself ask.

"Good, according to my exes," Baekhyun teased.

Taemin turned bright red and laughed as Jongin let out a deep, tired sigh.

"Guys, not to be the party pooper but Jongin has an appointment in ten minutes so..." Kyungsoo coughed softly.

"Already?" Jongin whined.

Taemin suddenly jolted on his feet and grabbed the phone in the pocket of his hoodie, looking at the time in horror.

"Oh fuck! I'm late! I'm so late! I need to go!"

He turned to Jongin in panic and looked at him for a second with a wince.

"I'm sorry, I must-..."

"Yes, of course, go... Sorry to have kept you here," Jongin said gently. And he tried not to sound as heartbroken as he actually was.

Taemin shook his head.

"No please, I was-... I'm glad I came. I just... must go. See you another time."

He bowed quickly to Baekhyun and Kyungsoo and stole another longing glance at Jongin with a pout before he hurried to the door.

Jongin watched him leave their parlor. Taemin looked back and waved at him from the corner of the window but he had disappeared before Jongin could wave back. And Jongin sighed.

"That went well," Baekhyun basked. "I can't believe you actually talked to him! You brought him here! You-"

Jongin turned around and Baekhyun's voice died instantly.

Baekhyun usually didn't pay attention to the meaningless threats in Jongin's eyes, but he was always very aware and careful when he saw anger on the face that practically never showed anything but love or mild, harmless annoyance to him.

"You really couldn't help making it all about you, could you?" Jongin accused with a hard frown.

Baekhyun softly opened his mouth, without really knowing what to say, but Jongin didn't let him speak.

"I was trying to talk to him for the first time but you just-... You had to make it all about you."

"Pooh, I-..."

Jongin turned away and Baekhyun's apologies stayed silent, hanging in the air as his friend made his way to the stairs leading to his tattoo room.

Baekhyun had come bearing gifts to apologize. It had taken an extra-large hot chocolate, a walnut and honey muffin, and pitiful acknowledgments of his mistakes coupled with excuses and promises to do better before Jongin said he was forgiven.

They had one of their infamous heartfelt conversations -that Minseok usually qualified as a recurring testimony of their bromance- in half-whispers where Baekhyun admitted that he was maybe too used to speak for Jongin just because he couldn't help how protective he got with him. And Jongin had pouted that he didn't mean to be that rude. He knew very well that he hid behind Baekhyun far too often and he couldn't blame his best friend for automatically putting himself in the spotlight by habit. It had always worked for them. For years, Baekhyun had done all he could to make sure people wouldn't bother Jongin because Jongin hated being the center of attention. Baekhyun would clown around, entertain, joke, and talk too much just to make sure his precious bear of a best friend was safe behind him.

On the next day, everything had already gone back to normal and Jongin's and Baekhyun's microscopic moment of disagreement was already forgotten. Jongin was back to smiling and waving at Taemin when he passed the parlor.

Meanwhile, Taemin was growing extremely aware of his surroundings whenever he passed the street or waited for his drink at Jongdae's coffee shop. Three of his friends had had to fight him to make him drop the idea of getting a sudden tattoo just so he could have an excuse to get around that Jongin dude, and at first, Taemin was very upset with all of them. But after considering their very legit arguments for at least ten minutes, Taemin had come to agree that, perhaps, there were easier ways to chat with his crush than putting a random drawing on his skin forever.

As he was still contemplating his options, a golden opportunity presented itself to Taemin. It was on a lovely, sunny Thursday, and he had ended his shift in the early afternoon. As he walked down the street to the metro station, he wondered if Jongin would be busy tattooing or if maybe, by some miracle, Taemin could catch him between appointments and, eventually, chat for a while, flirt shamelessly, get Jongin to smile at him, and melt in front of the man's feet. Taemin was quite notoriously famous amongst his circle of friends for falling a little too easily for pretty eyes and smug smiles, but still, it had been a notable while since he had crushed so hard on a guy and, as he said it himself, met someone so ridiculously and unfairly hot.

Up until then, Jongin, on top of being gorgeous, had been pleasant, cute, and altogether charming. And Taemin was dying to know more about him. Thus, he was decided to get to the tattoo parlor, provoke his luck, and hope that Jongin actually wanted to know more about him too. But as he neared the shop, he saw Jongin get out, wrapped up in his long black coat, head lowered to his phone.

Taemin's eyes widened in excitement and he scurried to him, planting himself next to Jongin with a grin.

"Hi," he said.

Jongin jolted with a little cry and turned his head to see Taemin, there, in the flesh, right next to him. He stilled and the butterflies in his belly immediately soared to fly around.

"Oh... hi there."

Jongin looked Taemin up and down and his face slowly softened to contentment.

"How are you?" Taemin asked.

"Good... uh-... yeah, great. And you?"

Taemin tilted his head with a little scrunch of his nose and Jongin barely contained the whimper that threatened to come out of his mouth.

"I'm fine," Taemin chirped before he looked back at the parlor, then at Jongin. "Are you busy right now? Am I bothering you?"

"Not at all," Jongin said with a smile. His eyes were gentle and shining, and Taemin felt warm. "I was just getting a latte, I mean... uh... a drink."

"A warm milk. With honey."

Taemin's smile turned mischievous and Jongin pouted.

"Yeah. I have a little break before my next appointment."

Taemin straightened up at that.

"Oh really? Can I come with you?"

Jongin stared at him dumbly, blinking in confusion, before he got a hold of himself and nodded quickly.

"Yeah... yeah, sure!"

"I'm off from work," Taemin explained, holding his hands behind his back as he swayed back and forth on his feet. "I was hoping you'd be free, actually. Just, you know... to talk or something."

"It would be my pleasure," Jongin said very honestly.

He extended his hand between them, gently gesturing for Taemin to walk before him to cross the street, and Taemin laughed softly.

"How long do you have?"

Jongin checked his phone as they walked up to the coffee shop.

"A little over an hour."

Taemin looked pleased with the answer and nodded quietly. Jongin held out the door for him and Taemin squealed inwardly, already feeling sorry for his friends who would have to hear about that for the next two weeks.

"What would you like?" Jongin asked. "My treat."

"You don't have to..."

"I know. I want to."

"Then, an Iced Americano. Thanks."

Jongin turned to him with surprise and Taemin only smiled back.

"Iced?" Jongin insisted. "It's not so warm outside..."

"I know but I just like Iced Americanos," Taemin shrugged. "No matter the weather."

The coffee shop was quiet and Jongin approached the counter, squinting when he recognized Kibum looking right back at him. He still hadn't made peace with the barista since he had accused him of trying to poison him with some fish sauce that had turned out to be coffee. Jongin still did his best not to appear too rude or unpleasant since Taemin was waiting next to him, his cute smile dancing on his lips while Jongin ordered for them.

They found a table in the back, where Jongin wouldn't have a clear, open view on his parlor during his break, and sat across from each other. Taemin immediately brought his hands around his drink, closed his lips around his straw, and drank. And Jongin stared.

"So," Taemin chirped after a little cough.

It startled Jongin, who straightened on his seat and tried to pretend that he was in perfect control of his body and thoughts.

Taemin looked at him expectantly and for a second, Jongin wondered if he had been asked a question and didn't hear it. But Taemin was blushing a little and desperately trying to find something to say. For some reason, the sight of Taemin's nervosity calmed Jongin down.

"I'm not great at this," Jongin confessed with a smirk.

"This?"

"Small talk. Getting to know each other."

"Oh," Taemin said softly. "Well uh... Me neither."

Jongin bit his lip and busied his hands with his straw. He had hoped that admitting that would somehow help their situation but it hadn't, and he had no idea what else to say.

"So is it like... okay... if I ask dumb or awkward stuff?"

Jongin looked up and laughed at Taemin's cheeky face.

"Yeah, I guess."

"How many tattoos do you have?" Taemin asked without missing a beat.

Jongin's smile widened and he shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I kinda lost count. More than 20."

Taemin sucked on his drink with round eyes, then licked his lips and tentatively approached a hand to Jongin's forearm but he stopped himself before they could touch.

"You know, I keep wondering how rude it is if I stare," Taemin giggled nervously. "Like, the ones on your arms look really awesome but I'm not sure what it is quite exactly and then I get scared that looking too much is weird."

Jongin genuinely laughed and moved one of his arms on the table to extend it for Taemin to see. He rolled his short-sleeve up his shoulder and didn't miss the way Taemin swallowed as he watched him. That was very good information.

"It's a forest," Jongin said. "You can look, it's okay. You can even touch... but only because it's you."

Taemin smiled behind one hand, then brought his fingers to Jongin's wrist. Jongin turned his arm slowly under Taemin's hand, showing him the different trees he had tattooed, up to the mountains appearing on his shoulder and fading softly. Taemin's fingers on his skin were gentle and a little shy, brushing up and down his tattoo, caressing his wrist, until Taemin took Jongin's hand in his. He remembered the first time he had seen Jongin's tattooed hand. It was the first of Jongin's tattoos he had actually noticed, without really knowing what it was. He didn't realize how warm and affectionate his touch was as he held Jongin's hand in his to look at the roots and shadows of drawn trees slowly uncurling in complicated patterns over Jongin's fingers, framing a quote in pretty handwriting written on the back of Jongin's hand. _It's your time for confession_.

Taemin let out a little sigh of awe and Jongin felt his heart thunder. All he could see was how small Taemin's hands were and how cute his fingers looked, holding on Jongin's wrist.

"It's really beautiful," Taemin said, still looking and turning Jongin's wrist right and left.

"Thank you. I drew that one."

Taemin looked impressed and Jongin smirked.

"You know, I'm a tattoo artist. I draw stuff."

It caused Taemin to blush and scrunch his nose in embarrassment.

"Yeah, it makes sense... Does all of this count as one or several tattoos?"

Jongin laughed again and Taemin melted. Jongin's laugh was a little high-pitched compared to his talking voice, it was far too cute.

"Two, actually. I count the quote as another one. 'Got them at different times."

"What other tattoos do you have?"

"I can't show you all," Jongin teased, all smug. "We're in public."

Taemin blushed and hid his face behind his hands.

"Oh fuck, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be creepy."

Jongin caught one of his hands back and squeezed it softly.

"It's alright, look, this is a tattoo I really like."

He showed his left hand to Taemin and curled his fingers. On his phalanxes, a word was spelled and Taemin cooed as it read 'BEAR'.

"Oh no, that's so cute."

"I know, right," Jongin giggled.

"You should put 'POOH' on the other," Taemin mused.

Jongin leaned on his elbow and rested his cheek in his right hand as Taemin was still holding his left.

"Please, don't say that anywhere near Baekhyun because he'd force me into it."

Taemin looked up with a mischievous grin.

"Oh, really?"

"I shouldn't have said that..."

Taemin shook his head slowly but then reported his attention on Jongin's left arm. There were different animals; Taemin recognized a fox, a bat, and a bear, all carefully hidden into patterns of leaves and flowers.

"That's impressive..."

"Kyungsoo drew those," Jongin said. "He's amazing with flowers and animals... he gives them the most amazing colors. He drew the piece on my back too."

Taemin blinked and looked between Jongin's face and his arm.

"On your back...?"

Jongin smirked at him again and nodded with a hum.

"Wanna see my favorite tattoo though?" Jongin asked.

He was grinning and Taemin had trouble staying focused. He couldn't believe how quickly and easily Jongin could switch from looking so teasing and sexy to giggling like a 5 yo. By all means, it wasn't good for Taemin's heart.

"Yeah, sure," Taemin said and he half hoped that it would be placed somewhere that would require Jongin to lift his shirt up or down.

Unfortunately, Jongin only turned his left arm again and pointed to his wrist, where a tiny drawing laid. Taemin squinted on it with a frown.

"Is that... another bear?" he asked, confused.

It didn't look like Kyungsoo's style, nor Jongin's. It was a round, weirdly proportioned little bear, apparently asleep.

"Yeah," Jongin gloated proudly. "My nephew drew it for me... So I got it tattooed. Isn't it cute?"

Taemin was looking right at Jongin, who was busy fondly stroking his tiny tattoo, and melted.

"It really is."

"Is your curiosity satisfied yet?" Jongin asked before he took a sip on his drink.

"For the time being, I suppose, yes," Taemin simpered, "since you can't undress in public."

Jongin choked on his warm milk and tapped his chest as he coughed. Taemin snorted.

"Yeah, let's keep that for another day."

"Is it a promise?"

"It is now."

Taemin was looking at him with half-lidded eyes, nose up, a dangerous, pleased grin on his lips, and Jongin tried not to look too embarrassed.

"Good," Taemin whispered before he brought his straw in his mouth again.

"You're quite something..."

"Are you disappointed?"

"Not at all."

Jongin's heart wasn't calming down at all. It was actually thrilling to talk to Taemin, to flirt with him so shamelessly.

Taemin asked him what were his other hobbies, besides tattoos. Jongin told him everything: from the jogging and hiking he liked to do, to the weird astronomy videos he always ended up looking on Youtube. He learned that Taemin was obsessed with scuba-diving as much as he was with plants, that he had even more random and oddly specific hobbies as Jongin, and that he was undoubtedly witty, facetious, and an absolute tease. Jongin got hooked on the way Taemin blinked when he was certain he had just said something awkward, and how he kept bringing one hand up his face to hide his laugh, and how he kept pinching his own cheeks while listening to Jongin rant about something random.

One hour in Taemin's company had annihilated any hope to get over his crush for him, which, altogether, was a rather good thing considering Taemin definitely liked him back. A lot.

Jongin was glad he had put a little alarm on his phone to remind himself to get back to the parlor for his next appointment, otherwise, he would have probably completely forgotten about it, too engrossed that he was in everything that was Lee Taemin. The professional, rational, sensible side of Jongin was relieved that he hadn't missed his client, but he still felt bitterly disappointed that he had to put an abrupt end to their captivating discussion about the quantum mechanics videos that they happened to both watch. Taemin was pouting when Jongin had to excuse himself, which made it all the more difficult.

"Let's do this again," Jongin offered and tried not to sound too desperate.

"Definitely."

Jongin's phone lighted up with a text from Baekhyun who was asking him where the fuck he was, and Jongin sighed.

"Alright, I really need to go. I'll catch you up later," Jongin said as he got up.

Taemin winked at him and shook his empty cup of Iced Americano.

"Thanks for the drink. Next one is on me."

"That's another promise."

Taemin hummed with a grin and Jongin stepped back, unwilling to go away.

"It sure is. Now, look where you're going, you're about to bump into a wall, silly."

Jongin turned his head and coughed, cheeks red.

"Yeah, right... See you."

"See you. Go. Shoo."

Taemin waved at him sweetly and Jongin turned around to leave.

Taemin started to stop at the tattoo parlor more and more often. Then, he stopped daily, even when he could only stay for a minute, greet Jongin, and go away. As for Jongin, he went back to the plant nursery to buy a house plant for his flat and ask for Taemin's number.

Taemin had been insufferable about it to his friends and coworkers for the whole day.

It was all going great. Amazing, actually, according to Taemin. Jongin wasn't only unreasonably handsome; they clicked. They clicked in all the weirdest parts of themselves. They clicked in their clumsiness, in the jokes they liked, in their stupid obsessions, in the way they liked to banter. And Taemin adored how freeing it was to be around Jongin because the man never really seemed to get annoyed by his quirks or tired of his awkwardness.

It was a little scary, at times, how comfortable it was to be with Jongin. It was scary because he could feel himself slowly falling for him and that was generally the part where Taemin got hurt. But Jongin made it so easy and so reassuring to fall in love with him that Taemin found himself embracing it. It was in little things, really. Jongin was attentive and kind, and Taemin felt listened to and cared for.

When they had first met, Taemin had been certain that he couldn't possibly be Jongin's type. That he might be too plain, too normal, in a way. But Jongin always looked at him like he was amazing, like he had never seen anyone more extraordinary than Taemin. It filled Taemin with overwhelming pride.

They were still flirting, though, without really putting official words on what was going on between them. They were waltzing together in the early stages of what Taemin truly hoped would become a steady, cute relationship. They had developed little habits, mostly through texting, but Taemin really loved just passing by the parlor and wave at Jongin.

One morning, as he knew Jongin had a tattoo appointment early for once, he took a tiny detour and stopped at the coffee shop first. Jongdae was behind the counter and greeted him loudly. For some reason, the barista had decided that it was very logical for them to become friends since they both dated a man from the tattoo parlor across the street. When Jongdae had proclaimed that, Taemin had been far too flustered to point out that he wasn't technically _dating_ Jongin just yet but that they were merely seeing each other and he actually had no idea how serious it was between them.

"Yo, Taeminnie. Large Iced Americano?"

Taemin laughed as he came to the counter and nodded.

"Yes, please. But add a large hot chocolate."

Jongdae raised his eyebrows with a pointed look.

"I see how it is. Say hi to Jongin for me," he simpered while grabbing another cup.

Taemin lowered his head to hide his blush and took out his wallet.

"Actually," Jongdae said, "if you go there, would you mind bringing a drink to Minseok for me? I know he's working today. I'll be the one paying, obviously. Just bring my man his coffee."

Taemin found it cute, how Jongdae spoke just a little louder and softer at the same time when he said Minseok was his.

"Yeah, of course."

"Thanks, you're a peach."

Taemin rolled his eyes but then frowned.

"Wait uh... Maybe I should bring everyone drinks, then... Do you know if it's Baekhyun or Kyungsoo working today? I mean, if I come in with drinks for Jongin and Minseok only, that'd be mean."

Jongdae blinked a couple of times, then smiled.

"You're cute."

"Uh?"

"I don't know who works, but I'll tell you what... We'll make it a white mocha. That's Kyungsoo's favorite drink. If he's not there, Baek will complain but still drink the mocha because, you know... he's addicted to coffee. If you bring a triple espresso to Kyungsoo though, he'll throw it in the sink."

Taemin couldn't help laughing.

"Alright, let's do that."

"We'll split the cost."

Taemin tried to argue but Jongdae didn't let him and pushed him farther away to serve his other customers.

Crossing the street with four drinks in a bag had been a small epic adventure for someone as clumsy as Taemin and he was really glad he reached the tattoo parlor safely without spilling anything. Kyungsoo had come to open the door for him.

"'morning."

"Good morning," Taemin chirped. "Is Jongin done yet?"

"He just finished tattooing," Kyungsoo said as he went to sit back behind the computer. "He should come up in a couple of minutes."

Taemin walked up to him and sat on the armchair in front of the desk.

"I brought everyone a drink," he said as he took the white mocha out of his bag to give it to Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo took it with wide eyes and pursed lips, blinking a few times before he opened the lid and smelled his favorite coffee.

"That's so sweet of you."

"Is Minseok there?" Taemin asked with a smile.

Kyungsoo turned on his chair and yelled.

"Cinderella! We got coffee."

Minseok was quick to exit his piercing room, gloves on and disinfectant in hands. He trotted to them and smiled brightly when he recognized Taemin.

"It's from your boyfriend," Taemin simpered, holding out Minseok's cup.

"Really?" Minseok squeaked.

Kyungsoo couldn't help softly teasing his friend as he saw him blush and squirm around, and Taemin followed their little squabble for a moment before he turned around to look at the stairs leading to Jongin's tattoo room. He immediately broke into a smile as he saw Jongin, leaning his elbows on the banister and staring right back at him. Taemin got up and walked up to him, their drinks in hands, Kyungsoo and Minseok already forgotten.

"Good morning, beautiful," Jongin beamed.

"Hi, I brought you a hot chocolate."

Taemin pushed his drink into Jongin's hands, hoping it could somehow distract the man from his reddening cheeks. Jongin tilted his head with a coy smile.

"You're perfect, thanks."

"I'm doing my best," Taemin whispered.

"Do you have a minute to come down?"

Taemin hummed, took his phone from his pocket to check the time, and then nodded.

"I have around half an hour for you."

They didn't pay attention to Kyungsoo and Minseok, somehow discussing the Lion King behind them by then, and went down the stairs. It was the first time Taemin came into Jongin's tattoo room and it was far bigger than what he had expected. It still smelled freshly clean, every tool carefully sorted on the shelves and desk on the right. Taemin put his drink on the edge of the desk and walked around, curiously looking at the large, comfortable chair for the clients, and the posters hanging on the walls.

"Did you ever think about getting a tattoo?" Jongin asked.

He was sitting on his stool and made it roll closer to Taemin, who was smirking at him.

"Before knowing you? No, never."

Jongin raised an interested eyebrow at that.

"But now?"

"Honestly?" Taemin bit his lip. "At some point, I thought about getting one just to have an excuse to come talk to you."

Jongin burst out laughing and Taemin hit his leg with his foot softly. He was pouting.

"My friends talked me out of it. I'm kinda glad."

"You're a disaster."

"Hey, just a minute ago you were saying that I'm perfect. Let's go back to that instead."

Jongin caught Taemin's knee in one hand and rolled even closer until Taemin could just fall on his lap and sit on his thigh.

"I'm sorry. I'm touched."

Taemin poked Jongin's cheek with one finger.

"I have a question," Taemin said to draw the conversation to a topic that wasn't embarrassing for him.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you all call Minseok 'Cinderella'? I mean... I'm kinda curious since I know the origins of all your weird nicknames but his. If it's okay to ask, of course."

Jongin blinked a couple of times, then started giggling. It caused Taemin to wiggle on his thigh.

"It's really funny," Jongin breathed out between two chuckles.

But as he tried to calm down and opened his mouth, he abruptly frowned. Taemin titled his head.

"Jongin?"

"I uh-... I just realized, it ain't actually funny."

Taemin snorted.

"What?"

"I don't know... It seemed hilarious at the moment I think... when Baekhyun and I came up with it. But now that I think back on it, we're kinda awful people."

"Is it that bad?"

Jongin hummed, suddenly pouty.

"Well, part of it is because he likes to clean. He's obsessed with cleaning equipment and all. Like, the best way to make him happy is to offer him a vacuum. That weirdo..."

Taemin laughed in his hands and Jongin's heart melted into a puddle.

"But like... when we first met... He was just out of a difficult relationship," Jongin said, his voice soft. "He had kinda lost all of his friends... I mean, I don't want to go too much into details because that's personal... But, yeah. He left a really bad man and it hasn't been easy. When he told us about it, we tried to make him feel safe around us, at work and outside. Baekhyun was trying to cheer him up and that nickname came up... because Cinderella kept being brave and kind even in her toxic environment, you know? It really seemed clever and funny at the time. Minseok liked it anyway. So it stayed."

"Oh," was all Taemin whispered.

He wasn't sure what else he could say. Jongin brought his arm around Taemin's waist and squeezed softly.

"It was a while ago though, don't worry. He's doing much better now. And we were all very proud when he finally asked Jongdae out. It took him a fucking while but he did it."

"I'm really glad for them."

"Seeing Minseok, out of all people, being brave enough to ask someone out after years inspired me," Jongin mused coyly. "It gave me the courage to come to talk to you."

Taemin rolled his eyes but a bright smile was blooming on his lips.

"Oh, really? Was that how it went?"

"I wasn't so daring before," Jongin said with fake solemnity.

"But now you are?"

"I am."

Taemin kept silent and looked smugly at him, waiting. His eyes were shining with mischief and challenge. Jongin smirked back, caught Taemin's chin, and leaned to kiss him. He pressed his lips against Taemin's and immediately felt him kissing back.

Jongin was trying his best not to let his feelings overwhelm him so he could give Taemin a proper, mindblowing kiss, but his heart was thundering and Taemin's lips were soft and so perfect against his. He could feel that Taemin was holding back a smile with some difficulty, puffing between two kisses.

"I can't believe I'm kissing you," Taemin whispered.

Jongin nibbled his bottom lip and opened his eyes to stare at him.

"And yet."

Taemin cupped his face and kissed him again but it was difficult through his giggles. He ended up pressing his mouth against Jongin's, laughing softly, and Jongin couldn't help smiling back. They kept trying to make out through their amusement until Taemin gave up and started laughing fully.

"What's so funny?" Jongin asked, half whining, half smiling.

"I don't know," Taemin breathed out.

Jongin drew him back to kiss him again because he had barely tasted Taemin's lips yet and he really wanted more but Taemin kept chuckling as their noses rubbed against each other.

"Wait," Taemin sighed.

He kept trying to both kiss Jongin back and stop him, which wasn't very effective for any of those outcomes.

"Stop laughing," Jongin said.

"I can't," Taemin gasped.

Jongin cupped Taemin's face and pouted as he saw him still giggling softly. Then he just stroked his cheeks and pulled him in for a cuddle.

"Silly," he murmured.

Taemin was still shaking with laughter and hid his face in the crook of Jongin's neck.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

"I can't believe I ruined our first kiss."

"You didn't ruin it. And there will be more of them."

Taemin took a long inhale to calm himself down and finally straightened up.

"Okay, I'm ready."

"You're so cute."

Taemin wiggled his eyebrows but as soon as Jongin leaned in again, he burst out laughing once more. Jongin faked a deep sigh and hugged him again, his hand stroking Taemin's back gently.

"Alright, no kisses on the lips for now, I get it," he said before he pressed a little peck on the top of Taemin's head.

Taemin slipped his arms around Jongin's waist and held him tight.

"I'm terrible," he grumbled.

"I still have a crush on you though."

"Oh, that's nice."

"But you'll have to make it up to me."

Taemin squirmed to look up to him and scrunched his nose.

"Well, there's something I want to ask you..."

Jongin brought one hand to Taemin's face and tucked one strand of hair behind his ear with a little hum. Taemin sighed contentedly.

"Tell me..."

"So, you see, there's a flower exhibition at the Grand Park each spring and uh... I'm used to going alone or bringing a friend because it's really beautiful and I really love going there and you know... I was wondering if maybe, you'd like to come with me," Taemin said softly.

Jongin's whole face brightened.

"Yeah, sure! I'd love to come."

"Really? I mean, it's basically just... walking around and looking at flowers."

"It's a date with you which automatically makes me want to go. The fact that we'll walk around and look at flowers is just a bonus at this point."

Taemin straightened up, his eyes widening. Jongin could almost see little sparkles of happiness shining all around him.

"A date?" Taemin squeaked. "Our first date?"

"We could argue on that day we first talked at the coffee shop being our first date, but well... Whatever makes you happy."

Taemin hummed happily and wiggled on Jongin's thigh.

"Let's say it's gonna be our first date, so I can enjoy it fully. If we decide afterward that our coffee break was our first date, I'll feel robbed."

"Okay, when do you want to go on our first date?"

"I love it when you say 'first date'," Taemin whispered with a giggle. "I work until the end of the week and Sunday will be too busy. Maybe Monday? Are you free in the afternoon? I end my shift early."

Jongin got his phone from his back pocket to quickly check on his calendar. His appointments were always taken far ahead.

"I should be free around 3 pm."

"Monday it is."

Taemin was beaming with happiness and Jongin thought that he had never seen him that pretty. He was barely realizing that they had taken another really meaningful step towards that perfect relationship goal Jongin was aiming for so desperately, all hypnotized that he was by the way Taemin was looking at him as if he was the sun and all of the stars in the universe.

Taemin kissed him. It was a tentative little peck as if they hadn't kissed -or tried to- just minutes before. That time, though, they weren't smiling excitedly. Jongin closed his eyes and kissed him again, slowly and fully, to enjoy Taemin's lips, feel the way they slipped against his. He brought one hand in Taemin's hair and pressed their mouths together more closely. Between two kisses, Jongin breathed in Taemin's perfume, then nibbled on his bottom lip and sucked it in his mouth. It was intoxicating. Taemin was intoxicating. His sighs, his lips, his tongue, his small hands gripping Jongin's shirt.

They kissed until their lips were swollen, red, and glistening. Then Jongin leaned his forehead on Taemin's and Taemin gasped.

"Your lips are very pretty," Taemin murmured. "I like them a lot."

Jongin smiled and stole another kiss. Taemin was doing his best to keep his hands at respectable, decent places on Jongin's body as they made out.

Even when Taemin realized it was time for him to leave, Jongin didn't want to let go of him. They got up and kissed their way through Jongin's tattoo room. Taemin grabbed his untouched coffee and still turned around in Jongin's arms to get another smooch. They kept going as they went back up the stairs and the presence of a client talking through a tattoo appointment at the desk with Kyungsoo was probably the only reason Jongin didn't push Taemin against the door to suck his lips one last time.

Taemin looked slightly disheveled when he left, tilting his head to wave to Jongin behind the window a couple of times with a dreamy look on his face before he disappeared completely. Jongin felt positively invincible the whole day.

The weather was warm for their first date. Jongin ended the tattoo for his client a little early and found Taemin waiting for him in the lobby, with drinks in his hands. He seemed hypnotized with the light, black v-neck that Jongin was wearing that day, and kept trying to peek through the collar at the tattoos under his collarbones, touching and stroking the ones on Jongin's neck that he finally had a better view on. He kept asking in small, rushed whispers if it was okay and if he was allowed to touch and Jongin was laughing at him.

Baekhyun practically pushed them away with annoyed grumbles, frustrated that he was to see them being so infuriatingly cute and cheesy. Then, he spent a whole hour sighing in Minseok's ears about how unfair it was that he was still single, and, in fact, the very last single in their whole gang; he, the only one who had been actively searching for a decent boyfriend for the past three years. Baekhyun still planned on asking Jongin about all the details of his date though, as he had kept doing with every little up happening in their relationship for the past month.

Taemin and Jongin had talked over texts about how they would act together. It had been Jongin's concern; he had wanted to know if Taemin was out and how comfortable he felt about being with Jongin on the streets. When Taemin had assured him that they could hold hands and didn't need to pretend to be friends, Jongin had been delighted. He still asked permission to kiss him, as they stood in front of a small patch of narcissus. Taemin was happily looking around, pointing at different kinds of flowers everywhere around them, telling Jongin their names excitedly, and he looked so precious, so adorable, caught up in his passionated explanations, that Jongin hadn't been able to hold back.

"Can I kiss you?"

Taemin blinked, all confused to be interrupted in the middle of his poetic description of the crested iris. Then, he grinned.

"Of course, why do you even ask?"

"We're in public..." Jongin whispered.

There was a difference between holding hands and kissing in front of so many witnesses. But Taemin shrugged and came closer to steal Jongin's breath away.

They walked through the whole exhibition; Taemin was fluttering around like a butterfly, taking pictures, talking to the plants, and marveling at the colors of their petals, while Jongin followed behind him, unable to look away, falling deeper in love with him with every blink of Taemin's eyelashes.

They bought ice creams, sat on the grass, and Taemin begged for a picture together that Jongin was far too happy to agree to. They kissed more; Taemin's lips tasted like banana and Jongin's like brownies, and Taemin found it extremely funny.

"Next time," Taemin said while they were laying on top of each other amongst grass and leaves, "we'll go to a place of your choice!"

"Next date you mean?"

Taemin nodded brightly.

"I already know where I wanna take you," Jongin hummed.

Taemin straightened up with wide eyes.

"You do?!"

"I've been thinking about it for a while, actually," Jongin mused.

He watched the way Taemin squinted and leaned above him, shielding him for the sun and blinding him with his smile instead.

"Where is it?"

"It's a surprise."

"Is it your house?" Taemin snorted.

Jongin laughed and pushed him away.

"Idiot. You wish."

"As a matter of a fact, yes, I wish."

Taemin was still trying to worm the location of their second date out of Jongin when they parted ways, late in the evening, after eating from a small food truck not so far away from the park. But Jongin remained stubbornly silent on it. 

For a couple of days, Taemin kept asking him about it on texts and between kisses when they met; Jongin always laughed it off. He was carefully planning the whole thing and only softly requested for Taemin to be patient. In the meantime, they continued to waltz and woo each other. They were shy, sometimes, and bold right after; both falling for each other but too timid to admit it.

Taemin came to the tattoo parlor every time he had a small break and didn't mind talking with whoever was at the front desk when Jongin was busy. Some days, he would sit next to him in his tattoo studio and watch him draw one of his clients' orders in awe. When Taemin's eyes would fall on his phone, Jongin would slide a little drawing on his lap as a little present that Taemin kept preciously and pinned to the wall of his kitchen. It was a very soft routine that Jongin was extremely attached to. When Taemin started showing up with flowers that he left in his wake, Kyungsoo stared at Jongin and told him to stop messing around and marry that man.

Finally, in the middle of April, Jongin brought Taemin on their second date. He had waited for a special exhibition to arrive in the Museum of Modern Art and took him there one evening. Taemin was oddly quiet as they walked through the gallery, clinging on Jongin's arm as he watched around in admiration. When Jongin asked him if everything was alright and if he liked it -scared that his choice of activity was boring, or uninteresting to his date- Taemin sighed softly, his chin resting on Jongin's shoulder.

"You should have told me to wear something fancy," he simply pouted.

Jongin blinked in confusion.

"What?"

Taemin made a vague, embarrassing gesture at his outfit. He was wearing ripped jeans and a large, comfortable baby blue hoodie.

"What's wrong with it?" Jongin asked, still feeling lost. "You're pretty."

Taemin blushed but still mumbled.

"I feel underdressed... You're super hot in your fancy shirt and I'm here looking ready to go gardening."

Jongin turned around to slide his arms around Taemin's waist and hold him. He leaned in to press their noses together and stole a small kiss.

"That's ridiculous. You're adorable. There's no dress code here anyway... I assure you, you're fine."

Taemin sighed and pursed his lips to get another kiss that Jongin indulged him.

"Still, just... let me know next time we go to a museum... So I can iron a shirt or actually just put an effort into my outfit."

Jongin laughed softly but nodded.

"I feel like everyone is staring at me," Taemin sighed.

"They stare because you're so pretty."

Taemin looked at him with a tilt of his head and a scowl.

"I'm serious."

"Me too."

Jongin brought a strand of hair away from Taemin's face and stroked his cheek softly.

"I'm sorry, Taeminnie. I really am. I'm used not to pay attention to people looking at me anyway... So I just didn't think about it. They always stare at the tattoos, you know..."

Taemin's sour expression softened.

"I don't want you to feel uncomfortable," Jongin continued with a gentle smile. "We can go if you want. I don't mind."

Taemin sighed dramatically and snuggled closer to hide his face against Jongin's chest.

"No, it's okay." His voice was faint and muffled by Jongin's shirt. "I want to look at the paintings. They're all really beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you."

"Oh, shut up."

Jongin giggled and Taemin straightened back up.

"Are you sure?"

Taemin nodded, laced their fingers together, and smirked.

"Yes. But you'll have to make it up to me."

Jongin raised an eyebrow in interest.

"A third date?"

"Definitely."

Taemin kissed him and it took all the strength Jongin had not to draw him closer and make out with him right in the middle of the gallery they stood in.

Taemin kept clinging on Jongin's arm through their visit but looked a little more relaxed. He had a soft smile playing on his lips the whole time and Jongin forgot to look at a few works because he was too busy staring at Taemin.

They talked quietly, all to themselves, exchanging thoughts and opinions on the art they saw. Then, when they had gone through the whole exhibition, Taemin started squirming around and Jongin recognized his way of trying to stall the moment they'd have to part. Taemin was trying to be casual and absentminded about hinting that they could still walk around the neighborhood because it wasn't so late and maybe, eventually, they could go grab dinner together.

"We can't," Jongin smiled.

"We can't?" Taemin repeated with a pout and he clung harder onto Jongin's arm.

"We already have a reservation somewhere."

Taemin's whole face brightened with excitation but then he squinted.

"Is it somewhere fancy? Will I look like the local caretaker again?"

"No," Jongin mused. "You'll fit right in, Honey."

It was the first time Jongin called him that and Taemin was so stunned that he forgot to ask what that sentence even meant.

Sometimes, Jongin had the smallest attentions that caused Taemin to go delirious with affection. When he stroked his thumb over Taemin's hand. When he brought his hand on Taemin's lower back. When he used his softest voice to ask Taemin's opinion on something. When he smiled and called Taemin cute. When he used a new pet name. And when he brought him to the loveliest little restaurant Taemin had ever seen; a place brimming with plants, from floor to ceiling, that looked straight out of a fantasy novel. It was a quiet place, with subdued lights and soft colors. The lingering smell of food mixed with the scent of flowers was pleasant and Taemin couldn't help but grin as he looked around in amazement.

Jongin squeezed Taemin's hand in his and brought him to a table by the window.

"I thought you'd like it..."

Taemin scrunched his nose, happily looking around to all the different plants hanging above them.

"It's perfect!"

"You can tell me the name of each plant, if you want," Jongin offered with a knowing smile.

Taemin looked back at him with red cheeks. Sometimes, he thought that Jongin knew him a little too well already.

"Really?"

But then Jongin gasped and raised his hand between them.

"Wait, should I try it first?"

Taemin's eyes started shining with happiness.

"Yes, yes! Go on! Try!"

Jongin fondled his chin playfully as he took a good look at the plants nearby. Taemin was staring at him and looked like a 5 years old on Christmas night.

"I believe," Jongin hummed, "this is a fern."

He pointed to a pot hanging not so far from them and Taemin squealed.

"Yes."

"And this might, I insist on the might, be a fig tree?" Jongin asked, unsure, as he pointed toward a pot in the corner behind Taemin.

Taemin turned around, barely glanced at the plant, and then smiled brightly.

"I'm so proud of you."

"I had a good teacher," Jongin shrugged smugly.

"You're so cute."

Jongin shook his head and Taemin was still grinning like a mad man when the waiter came to take their order.

They talked for hours through their meals; about their families, about their high school years, about their dream holidays, about their past roommates, about all of the plants Taemin had in his flat and the names he had given them.

"Is your dieffenbachia doing well?" Taemin asked.

They were eating desserts. Taemin kept smoothly stealing the caramel on Jongin's crepe because it went well with his chocolate cake.

"I think so," Jongin pouted as he moved their glasses on the table to form a barrier Taemin's spoon wouldn't be able to breach. "You could always come to check on her."

Taemin smirked, chin in his hand. He looked triumphant.

"If you _insist_ , I'll come to your house then."

Jongin froze and looked up to Taemin. His eyes softened and he licked his lips.

"Very well."

Jongin's apartment was a quaint little place. He had a small, narrow hallway that lead to a kitchen with a sloping roof. There was barely enough space for a little table in there but he had a large skylight that made the room seem a lot bigger. He loved to have breakfast curled up on his chair, looking at the clouds. On the left, he had a tiny bathroom, a little annoying because it didn't have a window and he always had to make sure that it was ventilated enough. Then, on the right, was his main room, with his bed pushed in a corner, facing a wall he had painted black. Artworks were hanging on his wall, a mess laid on the desk, an old, comfortable sofa stood on the far right. It was a little cluttered but homey. His dieffenbachia was chilling on a shelf next to his notebooks.

When they stumbled inside late in the evening and Taemin crossed the doorway for the first time, he didn't look at anything. Not really. He was vaguely aware of shoes laying on the ground in the hall, then he knew they passed into another room, and then he fell on the bed. Jongin had been kissing the light out of him in the elevator already and pressed him against walls, pushing him around as they made their way to Jongin's bed.

Taemin's hair was a mess on his head, his lips were swollen when they parted but he kept chasing Jongin's mouth, desperate for more. He briefly noticed how soft the bedsheets were under him. Then he saw Jongin lighting up his bedside lamp and everything was a blur again. Jongin kissed his way down Taemin's jaw and neck feverishly, sighing when Taemin gripped his hair and whimpered softly against his ear.

Taemin spread his legs and Jongin fell on him, humping him as he came back to kiss him deeply. They were messy and impatient, and Taemin suddenly seemed to realize what was going on. He cupped Jongin's face and tried to slow down. He tightened his thighs just slightly around Jongin's waist and pushed his face away to look at him.

"Jongin..."

Jongin blinked his eyes open and hummed. His pupils were so dilated that Taemin felt his blood boil under his look.

"I really want you to fuck me," Taemin whispered.

Jongin breathed out a moan and leaned in to kiss him again but Taemin held his face away.

"Wait..."

Jongin bit his lip and inhaled deeply before he moved slightly to rest on his forearms. He brought one hand to Taemin's hair and stroked it softly.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I want you to fuck me," Taemin repeated and stifled a sigh when he saw Jongin's eyes burn with want, "but like... slowly... Let's take our time. I want to relish it..."

Leisurely, as if to prove his point, Taemin lifted his head and kissed him. Jongin moved on top of him to lean on his knees and he caught Taemin's wrists to press them against the bed.

"Got it," he murmured with a little smirk. "I'll fuck you slow."

Jongin straightened up until he was kneeling right between Taemin's legs and took his shirt off. He let Taemin map his chest with his fingers, he let him mouth on his collarbones and press kisses along his chest, he let him marvel at all the tattoos he was only then discovering. Jongin even turned around to let Taemin caress his back and the beautiful art piece he had told him about the first time they had sat down together at the coffee shop. Taemin was almost trembling as he lovingly touched Jongin's skin marked with colorful, breathtaking flowers and birds.

He thought about how sensual it all was, the low light, Jongin's soft sighs, and him, kissing the petals drawn on Jongin's skin. And he loved it. He nibbled on Jongin's shoulder blades, then bit softly on his neck and let Jongin turn around once more to kiss him.

Jongin took his sweet time undressing Taemin, obviously extremely obedient to Taemin's wish to enjoy that moment fully. The more little moans and gasps he drew out of Taemin by worshipping every little part of him, the greedier he became.

Taemin's body under him, all hot and flustered, was driving him crazy. Taemin's narrow waist and his broad shoulders, his small hands holding on Jongin's shoulders, his thin legs tightening around Jongin's waist, all of him was perfect and Jongin kept whispering how beautiful he found him until Taemin was blushing and begging for Jongin to give him more.

Taemin kept calling his name even as his voice broke and fainted. His heart went crazy every time Jongin grabbed one of his thighs, his large hands wrapping almost completely around Taemin's legs. Their bodies were intertwined, moving together to chase their pleasure in a hot mess but Taemin didn't really care about the strain in his legs, all too focused on the look on Jongin's face above him.

Jongin had given up on trying to be quiet, moaning loudly in Taemin's mouth as he thrust into him. He tried to keep it slow, he tried to take his time taking Taemin apart but when Taemin finally pleaded for him to go faster, to wreck him, Jongin let loose.

Taemin's expression as he came between them was perfect. Perfect, perfect, _perfect_. Jongin told him about it over and over again as he was chasing his own orgasm.

He told him again the second time he made him come. He kept repeating it like a mantra when Taemin rode him like his life depended on it, later in the night. They played with each other's body until they fell on the messy, dirty sheets, exhausted and satiated, too ruined to do anything other than kiss and murmur soft, loving praises.

The next morning, Jongin woke up to Taemin softly stroking his hair and leaving little kisses on his forehead. He smiled sleepily and stretched between the sheets, sighing with delight as he rubbed his face on Taemin's neck.

"Morning, beautiful."

Taemin laughed softly and it caused Jongin's head to shake a little on his chest.

"Good morning," Taemin answered.

"Did you sleep well?"

Taemin hummed and continued tracing the lines of Jongin's tattoos with his fingers. Then he brought his hand to Jongin's face and forced him to look up to press a kiss on his nose.

"I did."

Jongin dozed off and Taemin wiggled under him to hold him better, closer.

"You're a sleepy bear, aren't you?" Taemin whispered.

A lazy hum answered him that time and Taemin smiled. He might have daydreamed about that exact scene a lot already: simply waking up with Jongin.

"Baekhyun was right," Taemin mused and he earned himself a confused groan from Jongin. "You really are great for cuddles."

The sun was peeking through the heavy curtains and Taemin could glance around the room and pay attention to his surrounding. Somehow, the room was a little more chaotic than he had expected. He was used to Jongin's tattoo studio being spotless and perfectly organized, but outside of the strict rules of his job, Jongin appeared to be a lot lazier.

"Jongin?" Taemin called softly.

He had no answer and giggled as he tried to break free. Jongin groaned and tightened his hold on him; Taemin whined faintly.

"I need to go to the bathroom..."

Jongin grumbled again but heaved himself out of the way and rolled on the bed. He laid on his back, blinking slowly as he heard Taemin tiptoe around. The apartment was far too small for Taemin to get lost anyway and Jongin sighed when he heard the bathroom door close behind him.

His thoughts were still muddled with sleep; he recalled briefly the dream he had had but it disappeared quite quickly and instead, Jongin found himself remembering his evening with Taemin. He smiled lazily and turned his head to the door, waiting for his date to come back. Then, he frowned. He wondered if he could call him his lover. Maybe his boyfriend. The thought made him blush and he rubbed his eyes.

When Taemin finally came back, Jongin was breathing deeply to calm himself down from the memories that kept coming back to him. Taemin climbed back into bed and kissed Jongin's cheek.

"I missed you a lot," Jongin complained in a murmur.

Taemin laughed and pushed him slightly to lay down more comfortably against him.

"Sorry, I cleaned up a little."

"Why?"

"I was gross from last night."

Jongin blinked, then rolled on Taemin to kiss him. He felt Taemin relax almost immediately under him and answer his kiss.

Jongin made love to him again, for the simple, pure delight of seeing him make a mess of himself again. Taemin's cheeks were still pink long after that, when Jongin cleaned them and made them breakfast. Taemin was still shy and flustered when they sat in the kitchen, wearing some of Jongin's most comfortable clothes. He was still cutely timid when he walked around Jongin's apartment to take a better look at his shelf of books and at his dieffenbachia.

When Jongin passed through the hallway, arms full of dirty sheets to bring to the washing machine in the bathroom, and saw Taemin quietly doing the dishes in the kitchen instead of chilling on the sofa as Jongin told him to, his heart stuttered and forgot how to beat properly. It was probably silly, how the sight of Taemin turning his head to grin and wink at him, with the sunshine coming from the skyline behind him hitting his back, made Jongin realize the depth of his overwhelming feelings for the man.

They lost count of the dates they went on together. Baekhyun didn't even ask for details on anything anymore, he had seen far too much already whenever Taemin stopped at their parlor or joined on their little friendly gatherings outside of work.

Taemin had been overjoyed the first time Jongin had brought him along and had introduced him to Chanyeol, Kyungsoo's boyfriend. Jongdae had created a special group chat between the three of them and kept telling Baekhyun to finally settle down with someone so they could be an even number, which was important to him for a reason Taemin didn't truly understand. He suspected that Jongdae simply liked teasing Baekhyun and reminding him of his single life.

Then, Taemin had introduced Jongin to his friends. Jongin had been very nervous at first, asking if Baekhyun could join them, whining that he was so terrible at meeting new people and that he was afraid to make a bad impression, but Taemin had done his very best to reassure him and to make it as easy as possible for him. It turned out Jongin had befriended Taeyong the fastest by simply sitting next to him in silence while Taemin was having some complicated, loud conversation with Minho, Jinki, and Jonghyun.

At some point, Jongin knew Taemin's apartment as well as his own. He could walk around in the middle of the night without needing to turn on the light and without stumbling upon anything. And sometimes, he found one of Taemin's dirty tee-shirt in his laundry basket, at home. Then, two more plants found their way into Jongin's bedroom. Another suddenly appeared in his kitchen. And waking up next to Taemin became normal, yet it still made Jongin impossibly happy.

One day, when Taemin stopped by the tattoo parlor during one of Jongin's breaks, with a hot chocolate in hand and a smile on his lips, Jongin summoned up his courage. Taemin dragged him into his tattoo room and found himself sitting on Jongin's desk, said man standing between his legs. They were kissing a little too heatedly, considering Jongin's next appointment would arrive about half an hour later but they couldn't find it in themselves to care.

Taemin still tried to calm down as much as he could when he felt himself getting far too worked up, and he pushed Jongin away slightly.

"What are you going to tattoo today?" he asked.

It was a random question, the only one he could think of to start a conversation that would make him focus on something else than getting Jongin's lips on his neck at any cost.

"She wants... uh-... the phases of the moon," Jongin hummed.

Taemin brought his hands in Jongin's hair to hold him at a respectable distance and smiled sweetly.

"That's a cute tattoo," he mused.

Jongin smirked with a little nod and dived to steal another kiss.

"You still don't want one, by the way?"

Taemin hid his laugh behind one hand. Jongin's heart went crazy at that sight, even after months of witnessing it.

"Maybe I could get one..." Taemin simpered.

"Really?"

Jongin raised an eyebrow and Taemin scrunched his nose.

"Maybe I could get a little bear."

Jongin bit his lip and slipped his hand up Taemin's thigh. He rubbed his thumb on his inner thigh slowly.

"That's a great idea," he purred. "You should get it right here."

He pressed his thumb against Taemin's jeans and Taemin squirmed against him.

"That's both too cheesy and too naughty," Taemin laughed.

Jongin straightened up and sighed deeply. He embraced Taemin loosely and pecked his nose.

"I was joking though..."

"I know."

"Don't get a tattoo because of me. It would jinx us."

"I know."

Taemin's voice was small. He looked at Jongin from under his eyelashes and Jongin felt his insides twist. It overwhelmed him, all of a sudden; how much he adored the man sitting in front of him, how much he loved everything about him, from his round cheeks to the way he sang and danced around while cooking. It struck him like thunder; how he couldn't possibly imagine his life without Taemin anymore, how he wouldn't go back to being without him for anything in the world.

And the little fear that had kept growing in his mind for the last weeks and the last months suddenly became unbearable.

His face must have shown his sudden turmoil and sadness because Taemin cupped his face with worry.

"Jongin? Are you okay?"

"Are you seeing anyone else?"

Taemin shook his head in disbelief and looked at him weirdly, with a little frown.

"I'm sorry?"

Jongin closed his eyes and winced before he looked at him again, with lost eyes.

"I don't see anyone else. But I just-... I mean... We never said we were exclusive, you know. So I'm just wondering..."

Taemin was staring at him with wide eyes, still confused.

"Where is this coming from?" Taemin asked.

"I keep thinking about it lately, I'm sorry. I just-... I wanted to talk about it. Make us... official."

Jongin lowered his eyes. He tried to keep up his composure but he felt his heart shrink and fall to the ground with the realization that Taemin hadn't said anything to deny Jongin's worries and fear. But Taemin lifted Jongin's chin and kissed him, slowly and tenderly.

"I'm not seeing anyone else," Taemin said softly. "Since that day you came into the garden center, you've been all I thought about, silly."

Jongin bit his lips not to smile but failed. He failed big time. But he couldn't care. Not when Taemin was smiling back at him with his eyes shining so cutely.

"Be my boyfriend," Jongin asked.

He pleaded, actually. His voice was soft and begging. Taemin tapped his cheeks and shook his head.

"Jonginnie, you absolute treasure. We've been boyfriends for the last month at least, please. Anyone looking at us would think we're already married. I've been pacing in my apartment for the last two weeks wondering how to give you a key and you're here being all troubled about wanting to be my boyfriend. You're killing me."

Jongin gasped and Taemin burst out laughing.

"You're so cute, it's insufferable," Taemin breathed out.

Jongin held him closer in his arms and hid his face in Taemin's neck.

"For real? We're boyfriends already?"

"Well, that's how I introduced you to everyone. Sometimes I also say you're my soulmate but that's just a detail."

Jongin let out a high-pitched whine and straightened up to peck Taemin's lips, cheeks, nose, everything in sight.

"Give me the key," Jongin pressed. "The key to your apartment. Give it to me."

Taemin kept laughing even as he tried to kiss Jongin back.

"Look at you, all impatient now... I'll give it to you tonight."

"I can't wait."

They were kissing again when a loud knock on the door interrupted them. Jongin groaned as he looked up to see Minseok standing there, unimpressed.

"Your client is here, Pooh," he snorted.

Jongin stuck out his tongue and Minseok rolled his eyes.

"Tell her to wait just a minute, I'll be right here."

Minseok sighed but didn't make any comment and turned around to leave. Taemin kissed Jongin's cheek and pushed him back to get up, much to Jongin's dismay.

"I should let you work now," Taemin sing-songed.

He tried to put his clothes back correctly and smooth Jongin's shirt but Jongin caught his hands and kissed his fingers.

"Sorry about that. I'll see you tonight? At your place? For my key?"

He smirked and Taemin pinched his nose.

"Yes, boyfriend."

Jongin grinned and finally let go of him, albeit reluctantly. But Taemin didn't turn, he simply stared at Jongin for a moment, then tilted his head.

"I love you, Jongin."

Jongin gaped. Everything around them seemed to shrink down, leaving only Taemin to Jongin's eyes. Only Taemin, and all of his perfection. Only Taemin, looking at him so fondly.

"Now is the part where you say it back," Taemin whispered.

His cheeks were reddening. His eyebrows were furrowing softly in worry. And Jongin's heart stuttered.

"I love you too," he breathed out.

Taemin blushed even more and let out a little squeal. He came closer to kiss Jongin's lips, stroked his cheek, and went away.

"Tonight, my place," he repeated softly, with one finger on his mouth. "You'll get a key!"

Jongin nodded distractedly.

He was vaguely aware that his client would come down any minute but he still needed time to process Taemin's sudden confession along with the fact that they were boyfriends. _They were boyfriends._ Jongin found himself smiling dumbly, standing in his tattoo room with a soft look on his face.

He absolutely had to stop at his apartment before meeting Taemin that evening and get the spare key from the tiny ceramic bowl on the shelf of his hallway.

Jongin recalled a thought he had had the first morning he had woken up in Taemin's arms. At the time, it had felt like life couldn't get much better. It had felt like he had already reached some peak of happiness. And yet, Taemin kept bringing him to heights Jongin had never thought he could see.

As he opened the door of his tattoo room to meet his client, Jongin had two thoughts. First, he couldn't wait to tell all that had happened to Baekhyun. Second, he couldn't wait to see what the future held for Taemin and him.

.

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THE END

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**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading ♥
> 
> find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/moonyki) // [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/Moonyki)
> 
> This prompt was originally submitted in a fest & a wonderful artist - Ka1tae- made a beautiful art for the AU. They agreed to me linking it so you can check it out [here](https://ka1tae.tumblr.com/post/190899095120/for-top-kim-jongin-fest-on-twitter).  
> The idea of Jongin's "BEAR" knuckles tattoo comes from them.  
> You can see more of their amazing work on their [tumblr](https://ka1tae.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/ka1tae).


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